When the Lotus Blooms
by Homura Bakura
Summary: A dream...that's what it felt like the first time he saw her, as though he had known her once before, but could not remember where he had seen her. Had it been in a dream? Or was this the dream he was living now? Yami no Yugi x Reincarnated!Mana (Servant/Vaseshipping)
1. A Rose in Full Bloom

"I had a bad dream last night," she whispered.

Her companion looked up from where he was busy piling sand in the vague shape of a pyramid. His brow furrowed, concerned.

"Why didn't you come and get me?" he asked.

She hugged her knees with her little hands, looking down at the sand. She rocked back and forth slightly. Her eyes wouldn't meet his. He frowned, and tried to reach towards her, but was just barely too far away.

"Because I dreamed that you were gone," she said, finally. "That you were going away in the dark and I couldn't catch up. And then I couldn't see you. I was scared that if...that if I went to find you, it would be real."

"Oh," he said quietly.

They sat silently in the sand for a second longer.

"I promise," he whispered.

"What?" she said.

"I promise that I won't go away. I promise that I'll stay right here."

She blinked at him from between her knees, as though unsure of whether he was telling the truth. He nodded firmly, determined.

"I'll stay right here with you, okay?" he said. "But...but that means you have to stay, too. You can't go away either."

A blush grew across his cheeks, and he ducked his head.

"So...what I'm saying is...let's stay together. Forever. Is...is that okay?"

She lifted her head now. Her eyes were shining with the hint of tears, but she rubbed them away with the back of her hand.

"It's a promise," she whispered, reaching out a hand.

His uncertainly melted away, and he reached to take her outstretched hands. Their tiny fingers entwined together, holding hands across the distance of the small pyramids they had been building.

"It's a promise," he agreed, and their hands squeezed together all the tighter, as the desert sun set in between them.

_But was that just a dream, or is this the dream I'm living now?_

* * *

**A/N: Welcome to my new Vaseshipping fanfiction! This story takes some heavy influence from Kanon, but it is not a crossover, and it does not require you to have seen Kanon in order to enjoy this story. (Although, I recommend seeing Kanon anyway. It's a good show; it'll make you cry, though). Each chapter will have a flower in its title that means something in the language of flowers; I'll tell you what the meaning is at the end of each chapter. :) The meaning of a rose in full bloom is **_**I still love you.**_ **Without further ado, please enjoy **_**When the Lotus Blooms.**_


	2. Yellow Lily In the Snow

"I told you that you should have gone to bed on time," Yami no Yugi muttered.

Yugi groaned at the back of his mind, and Yami no Yugi grinned.

It was a cold morning. The air nipped at Yami no Yugi's nose. He buried his hands deeper into the big pockets of Yugi's long coat, and pushed his nose into the big brown scarf. It was an interesting thing to note that he was less tolerant of the cold than Yugi was, even though they shared the same body. Yami no Yugi liked to think that it was because, somehow, part of him still remembered what it was like to live in Egypt three thousand years ago. He certainly wasn't as big a fan of winter as Yugi was – part of the reason why Yugi had stayed up so late was because it had started snowing outside his window, and he had been so excited that he had had to text all of his friends about it for several hours, taking pictures to send to their phones.

The white sky stretched out above, but there were no flakes falling down now. Only the barest dusting of the white stuff covered the concrete and the rail tracks. Yami no Yugi leaned over to see farther down the railroad. He couldn't see the train yet. He checked his watch. Well, there was still ten minutes to go.

The phone in his pocket buzzed. He fished it out, grateful for the gloves even though they made texting more difficult than it already was. He still couldn't figure out how anyone could do this quickly; his thumbs were much too big for the tiny keypad. Yugi had it down, but again, it was another one of those strange quirks that the two spirits didn't share.

The screen read _Anzu Mazaki._ Yami no Yugi smiled and opened it. They had been texting back and forth for the past couple of hours – what time was it in Japan right now? About...four in the afternoon, he thought. He opened the message.

_So, you make it to the train station on time? ;D_

Yami no Yugi grinned.

_Yes,_ he texted back. _Although, no thanks to Yugi, because he spent all night reading the brochures. I had to get us here._

"_Other meeeee," _Yugi groaned. _"Don't tell Anzu that!"_

"Too late, I sent it," Yami no Yugi said, grinning.

Yugi managed to surface just long enough to take control of the texting.

_Dont listen 2 him Anzu, he lies!_

Yami no Yugi laughed as the dead-tired Yugi sank back down into his soul room and drifted back to sleep. Yami no Yugi shook his head.

"You'd better wake up in time for classes," Yami no Yugi said. "Because I'm not taking notes for you."

The whistle of a steam engine caught his attention. He leaned over to see the train chugging along towards him, a column of steam puffing along behind it. It was the oldest train Yami no Yugi had ever seen, nothing at all like the sleek one that had brought them from the London airport to the small English town of Risgate.

_I think I might like it better than the newer train,_ Yami no Yugi thought. _It looks a lot...gentler._

Anzu sent one last text as the train came to a stop, and Yami no Yugi glanced at it as he filed up the steps behind the two other people who had been waiting at the station.

_Haha, Yugi, you should listen to your other self. :3 Have fun on your first day! I want to hear all about it when you're done, no matter how late it is, okay?_

Yami no Yugi smiled – he had been doing a lot of that lately. It was honestly refreshing. After having come out of the harrowing events of Battle City just last spring and the incident with Yako Tenma and the Wicked Avatar in September, it was nice to feel so relaxed again. There hadn't been a crazy megalomaniac out to destroy him or the world in about three months. He wondered how long it would last, but the thought was an amused one. He was definitely going to enjoy this short study-abroad program in England that Yugi had managed to be selected for. The cold was a small price to pay for the quiet and calm of this small town.

He climbed onto the train and found it divided into compartments. This was a very old train, then. He hadn't thought that trains looked like this anymore, not even in England. He replied to Anzu with a quick _I'll be sure to let him know you said that...talk to you later _as his eyes scanned the train for an empty seat.

To his surprise, every compartment seemed to be full. How strange for such a small town. This train only serviced the town, too, so it wasn't like people from other towns were taking advantage of the train. He frowned, looking for a spot as the train chugged and started to move again.

Glancing into the compartments one at a time, his eyes finally caught on an empty spot.

_Finally,_he thought.

He pushed the door open, but then hesitated. There was someone sitting in one of the four seats. He hoped she wasn't waiting for someone else.

"Excuse me..." he started, but then she looked up, and he felt like he had just been hit by a truck.

Her green eyes were dark enough to be mistaken for brown in the right lighting, and thick brown bangs framed a tanned, softly rounded face. Her hair lay thickly across her back and down her deep purple coat, some of the brown strands sticking out a little more than the rest, as though she hadn't been able to get a brush all the way through it.

For a second, he felt as though a name jumped to the tip of his tongue, and then the sensation passed. The momentary shock from meeting her gaze passed, and he realized that he had stopped breathing for a moment.

"Uh...yes?" the girl asked, pulling an a bud from her ear. Yami no Yugi startled once again, as the voice seemed familiar. Like a song he had heard in passing on the radio.

"Oh, sorry," he said, feeling embarrassed. "Is this seat taken? Everywhere else is full."

"Nope, it's empty," she said. Her voice seemed almost a bit bouncy, and barely had even a hint of a British accent. It matched the little shake of her foot against the floor, as though she were unable to stay still. "Go ahead, you won't bother me."

"Thanks," Yami no Yugi said.

He slipped into the seat diagonal from her, closer to the door. The compartment door slid shut behind him, and an awkward silence . He could still tell that his cheeks were a bit red – how embarrassing to have just been staring at her like that.

Still...

He chanced another peek at her from under his bangs. He found her sneaking a glance at him, and then both dropped their gazes quickly. Yami no Yugi felt his face go red again, and cursed Yugi's fair skin and proneness to blushing. But he couldn't shake that weird feeling he had gotten when he first saw her. Had he seen her somewhere before? Maybe she had been on Duelist Kingdom and he had seen her in the background, or something. Or perhaps Battle City. But maybe she wasn't a duelist at all; in that case, how would he have met somebody from England?

She hadn't put her earbud back in, though, and the silence just grew and grew. He glanced up again, noting the way the light glittered across her very dark green eyes. It was that more than anything that was familiar, that particular shade of green. Had he really not seen her before today?

"Uh, I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

The words were out of his mouth before he really realizing he was speaking. The girl blinked. She smiled, a little shyly.

"Why, are you trying to pick me up?"

Now Yami no Yugi was certain that his face had gone completely red.

"N-No," he said, feeling flustered. It was really, really rare when he was the one in control when he and Yugi met somebody new – this wasn't his element. There was no duel or game to be played and there wasn't anything threatening the world. How did Yugi go about making friends so easily? Yami no Yugi hadn't even had to officially "meet" Jonouchi and the others, it had just kind of happened. "I – I mean, not that you're not pretty, but I was really just wondering – "

But the girl was smiling widely, and Yami no Yugi realized that she was only teasing.

"It's okay," she said, giggling. "No, I don't think we've met before...but it _is_ funny, cause I kind of had the same feeling about you when I saw you. Must be deja vu or something, right?"

She giggled again. The sound was relaxing, and Yami no Yugi released the breath trapped in his lungs.

"Right," he said, feeling a little calmer. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," she said.

She hesitated.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but you're not from Risgate, right? Your accent's a little different."

"I don't mind at all; and you'd be right," Yami no Yugi said. "I'm actually from Japan."

"Wow!" she said, eyes widening. "That's awesome! It must be really different out here...it's more crowded there, right?"

"Much more crowded," Yami no Yugi said fervently. "It was almost a shock to walk out into the silence when I got to the train station. It's colder here, too."

"Oh, well, I think that's the same for everyone," she said, laughing. "Even people from down south complain about the cold up here! Risgate's in a league of its own when it comes to winter."

Yami no Yugi grimaced.

"I guess I'm going to have to try and get used to the cold, then," he said.

"I moved here from Syria," she said. "It was _terrible_! But, I guess I'm mostly used to it by now. I'm sure you'll be fine too!"

The train clattered a bit in the pause.

"So you live up here?" Yami no Yugi asked.

"Uh-huh! I've been here for about...three years now? It's great, it really is. You'll love it!"

She looked so cheerful and her eyes so bright that Yami no Yugi felt a smile coming to his own lips. Her cheer was infectious.

"What brings you so far, any road?" she asked.

"Oh, a study-abroad. Yu – I mean, I got a scholarship to take part in the high school program."

He had to stop himself before he said "Yugi got a scholarship." It was one thing to talk freely about his mindmate with his friends, but he had a feeling that other people wouldn't get it.

"Oh!" the girl said, clapping her hands together. "You must be going to Risgate Academy, then! That's my high school! Wow! I can't believe the coincidence!"

Yami no Yugi brightened slightly. If everyone at the school was as friendly as she was, this would be even better than he had thought.

"That really is amazing," he said. "I guess I won't be going into school alone, then."

"Nuh-uh! I'll make sure and show you around and stuff!" she said, looking positively radiant about the idea.

She bounced in her seat for a second – that's how excited she was.

"Oh! And that means you'll be staying with my friend Dawn! She and her dad signed up to be the host family – have you met them yet?"

"No, my flight came in late," Yami no Yugi said. "Because of the weather...and then the trains weren't running, so we – I had to stay at a motel last night."

It was difficult to remember that he was supposed to be Yugi, and that this girl wouldn't know that there were two of them in the same mind. He would have to be more careful.

"You'll like Dawn; she's my best friend," she said. "Although she might overwhelm you a little, she can be really excitable!"

"You seem a little excitable yourself, Mana," Yami no Yugi said, grinning in spite of himself.

"Well, maybe that's why Dawn and I go so well together," she said, laughing. Then she paused. A confused looked popped into her eyes, and it only took Yami no Yugi half a beat to realize why. That made him a little confused as well.

"Did I...tell you my name?" she asked.

"I...I don't think so..." Yami no Yugi sad.

How had he known to call her Mana? Was he suddenly psychic now, too? Maybe Pegasus' eye was rubbing off on him somehow.

Then his eyes found the bag next to her, and he saw the name _"__Mana"_ in carefully embroidered silver letters.

"Oh," he said. "It's on your bag...I must have seen it subconsciously..."

Mana glanced down.

"Oh, right! That's gotta be it!" she said, her cheer returning in full force. "Well, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Mana Raful, pleased to meet you!"

She held out her hand and it took Yami no Yugi a moment to realized why. Feeling embarrassed again, he reached out to shake her hand.

"I'm –"

In the space of a split second, he fought with himself. On one hand, Yugi's name was about to roll of his tongue, but on the other hand, that wasn't him. Yugi was the name he shared for now but –

He suddenly didn't want to be someone else around her.

"Yami," he said, on the spur of the moment. "Mutou Yami."

"Nice to meet you, Yami!" Mana said. "Oh, this is so exciting! I can't wait for you to meet my friends!"

"Me neither," Yami no Yugi said.

"I hope we're in the same class!"

"Yeah," Yami no Yugi said, although privately he hoped not, because if they took roll call, they were certain to call Yugi's name instead, and that would bring up awkward questions.

There was a high-pitched whistling sound as the train trundled to a stop. Mana hopped up.

"Oh, we're here!"

She pulled her backpack on and then retrieved a pair of big black mittens and some fluffy earmuffs from her giant coat pockets, pulling them on.

"It's gonna be cold!" she laughed. "Come on, we don't want to be late for school!"

Despite his nervousness at this new development, Yami no Yugi couldn't help but smile. It was hard not to be happy around this girl.

A groggy voice at the back of his mind caught his attention as they navigated through the crowd of people leaving the train.

"_Are you having fun?"_ Yugi asked.

Yami no Yugi found himself blushing again.

"_I'm sorry, Yugi," _he thought quickly. _"__I didn't mean...I mean, I introduced myself wrong, and..."_

"_Oh, stop it,"_ Yugi thought back at him. _"__I'm glad! You made a friend all by yourself – congrats, other me!"_

Yami no Yugi's blush only grew deeper as Yugi added,

"_And she's really cute, too!"_

Yami no Yugi muttered at Yugi about how that wasn't even a factor as his partner giggled and teased at the back of his head. Then Yugi popped back into his soul room to grab a few minutes more sleep, after promising to take over in time for class.

Yami no Yugi followed Mana off the train and on to the snow covered platform.

"Good morniiiiiiiing!"

The sing-song voice was accompanied by a blur of bright blue as something large tackled Mana. Mana squealed with laughter, teetering dangerously backwards. Yami no Yugi hung back, trying to hide a smile.

"Dawn!" Mana laughed. "Dawn, stooooop! That tickles! Come on, stop it!"

The girl called Dawn finally stopped in her hug attack to pop backwards.

"I see you every _day_!" Mana said, her face red with the cold. "And you never stop being excited about it!"

"Life's too short not to be excited about everything!" Dawn declared.

She was about an inch taller than Mana, with blond hair that turned up at the ends, bright green eyes, and fair, pinkish skin. However, that seemed to be where their differences ended, because they were so alike in build and facial structure that they could have been sisters. She was clad in a dark blue cardigan and skirt with tall white socks – Yami no Yugi recognized that as the girl's uniform for the school he was going to be attending.

"Dawn," Mana said, between giggles. "This is Yami. He's our exchange student for the winter!"

Dawn spun on her toes to face Yami no Yugi, her smile wide.

"Happy to meet you!" she said. "I'm Dawn Marisa Grey. You're going to be staying at my place for the term!"

"Pleased to meet you too," Yami no Yugi said, shaking Dawn's hand. There was something remarkably familiar about this girl, too, but he decided it was probably just because she looked so much like a different colored version of Mana.

For a moment, his eyes met Dawn's, and he thought he saw a flicker of mischief and knowing there.

"So I see you've already met Mana," Dawn said. "How ace is that?"

This British dialect was going to take some getting used to, Yami no Yugi thought wryly. He and Yugi were fine with American English, which had been taught in their school, but England seemed to use some different phrases. Also, there seemed to be something else in Dawn's tone – mischief? Joking? Perhaps she spoke like that all the time.

"Okay, come on, we don't want you to be late for your first day here!" Dawn said. "We'll be meeting the rest of the gang on the way!"

The trio headed off down the snow-covered sidewalk. A brief flutter of snowflakes drifted from above, but it appeared to just be blowing off the roofs of the buildings. The scenery was much different here than in Domino. None of the buildings were more than three stories high, and many of them were made of brick, with big windows with shutters and awnings hanging low with snow piles. There were a surprisingly number of people walking about, and soft chatter and laughter drifted down the cold street. Mana began pointing out places of note as they passed, with Dawn adding her own commentary.

"That's the barber shop there."

"If you go make sure you get the girl with the cheek piercings, she does the best job!"

"And across the street is White Creamery; Dawn and I like to go there for coffee before class sometimes."

"You've never had a cappuchino before? We'll have to fix that!"

"Oh, and this is Miss Azarola's bookstore – they have all sorts of great stuff in there

"But she's pretty particular about her books...like you can't open them too much or you'll break the spine or whatever!"

They kept up a pretty constant commentary as they reached the end of the street and crossed the square. There was a calm sort of pacing to the town, he thought. It was a nice change from the always moving Domino, for a little while, at least.

"And that's the Fleur de Lis, Dominic's dad's flower shop," Mana said.

"Here he comes. Dom!" Dawn called, waving. "Hurry up!"

The shout was addressed to a young man with a mop of auburn hair, who was currently trying to push the door open past the snow that had fallen in front of it. He jogged to catch up with them.

"Morning, ladies!" he said. "And don't you just look like a beautiful pair of posies, as always."

"Dominic likes flowers," Dawn said. "He's _always_ talking about them."

"Oh, are you the exchange student, then?" Dominic asked.

"Yes, that's me," Yami no Yugi said. "Yami Mutou."

"Dominic McGuire, at your service for all things flowers," Dominic said, shaking Yami no Yugi's hand as they walked. "And I do _not_ talk about them all the time."

"You do too," Dawn said, grinning.

"I think you've managed to get every single one of your essays this year related to flowers somehow," Mana giggled.

"They say to write what you know," Dominic said, flipping his hair with a flourish.

They reached the other side of the square, Mana and Dawn talking the whole time, now with Dominic throwing in his interjections. Yami no Yugi just smiled and listened, completely all right with being in the background for once. He let his eyes wander to all of the places they pointed out to him, taking brief glances at the people that passed by, and...

For a moment, he caught a glimpse of light glittering across something white-blue, metallic, like some kind of white platinum. He had to stop and look, so surprised was he by the strange glimpse.

But it was gone as soon as he looked again. Had he imagined it?

A feeling grew in his stomach, like the one that he got when he had a card in his hand that he _thought_ was pointless, but instinct told him it would be incredibly important.

"Yami? You coming?" Mana called. "We're almost at the school!"

Yami no Yugi shook out of his reverie and hurried to catch up.

"Sorry. I thought I saw something."

"Huh? Like what?" Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi tried to come up with an answer, but Mana's attention was quickly drawn away by the appearance of their newest friend.

"Cadence!" Mana called. "Over here!"

The girl smiled slightly. She was closing an iron gate behind her, attached to low brick walls that surrounded a rather modest looking Victorian style house in gray and white. She was taller than the other two girls by several inches, and far more slender. Her pale white fingers almost glowed against the black gate. Thick black bangs fell neatly above her gray eyes, black glasses perched on her nose. The rest of her long black hair had been pulled into a thick braid that fell across her back.

Mana trotted ahead of the group to meet her.

"Good morning, Cadence!" she said. "All right?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Cadence said. Her British accent was far more pronounced than even Dominic's, who seemed a little more on the Irish side. There was a quietness to her tone, however, like she didn't feel the need to speak up, she just assumed that people would hear her. "And you?"

"Great!" Mana said. "Guess who we just met?"

"Who?" Cadence asked, smiling slightly, as though Mana were her hyperactive younger sister.

Mana smiled widely at Yami, gesturing towards him to come forward.

"Ta-da! This is Yami, the exchange student," Mana said.

"Pleased to meet you," Yami no Yugi said, extending his hand.

For a half second, Cadence did not respond to his hand. For a half second, Yami no Yugi saw her smile drop, her eyes flash, and her entire body tense up.

It only took half a second for Yami no Yugi to realize that Cadence did not like him.

But then Cadence smiled ever so slightly again – it looked pained – and took Yami no Yugi's hand.

"Cadence Mulloy," she said, and then took her hand away from him quickly, as though he had something slimy there that she didn't want to touch.

"Okay, introductions are over!" Dawn said. "We've gotta hurry, the train came later than usual and we might be late!"

"Oh no! Come on, Cadence, we have to run!"

Cadence's smile became a little more real as Mana grabbed her hand and started off at a trot. But even as Yami no Yugi smiled at Mana's exuberance, Cadence glanced over her shoulder at him.

And there was a warning in her eyes.

Although, a warning for what...Yami no Yugi wasn't sure.

* * *

**A/N: Soooo, now the actual story begins after the prologue! We meet all the major players (they were all there in some form or another, even just a mention) (or a glimpse cough cough) and and little bit of the conflict comes into play. What the heck is Cadence's problem anyway? XD As promised, here is the meaning of this chapter's flower: A Yellow Lily means "I'm walking on air."**


	3. A Forgotten Begonia

The day had been mostly uneventful. Yugi had forgotten that you had to move from class to class, and had almost just sat there in the same classroom until Dawn, who appeared to share most classes with him, had run back to grab him. All of the classes so far had been uneventful: Yugi shared English first period with only Dawn, and as he and Yami no Yugi had worked very hard with Anzu's help during the last semester of school, he was doing fairly well speaking and reading the language. He was with Dawn and Dominic for Maths the second period. Yugi had never liked the subject and was constantly nudging Yami no Yugi mentally to help him remember a formula, which Yami no Yugi staunchly refused to give him. _You have to learn this by yourself, no cheating! _Dominic seemed to hate maths just as much, as he spent more time slipping notes back and forth to various people in the room or twiddling his pencil than actually taking notes or doing the work.

Third period had been Yugi's favorite, of course: it was the reason he had applied for the scholarship in the first place: an archeology and history class. It was a very small class with none of the friends he had met before; several of the students were much older than him, as well. Given that it was supposed to be connected to the college (too far away for many people in town to commute to on time), the small size made sense. To Yami no Yugi's relief, however, none of the teachers took a roll call.

Then came lunch, and both Yugi and Yami no Yugi were completely overwhelmed by the cafeteria.

"_How does this even work?"_ Yugi thought frantically. _"__Where am I supposed to go? I didn't bring a lunch so..."_

"_I don't know either,"_ Yami no Yugi said, just as baffled by the lines and the tables. He couldn't believe that there was an entire room in the building just for having lunch. Back in Japan, they had eaten their lunch in their classroom. He supposed England had a little more space than Japan, so they were able to use it for things like this...

"Yami!"

Yugi glanced up. Yami no Yugi could feel his partner's slyness growing in the back of his head, and before he knew what was happened, Yugi had pulled back into the Puzzle and left Yami no Yugi in control, slightly disoriented and blinking against the sudden increase in light.

"_Have fun,"_ Yugi said. _"__Oh, yeah, and you get to figure out how the lunch room works, now."_

"_Just you wait, I'll switch _you_out at an awkward moment next time,"_ Yami no Yugi muttered back.

Yugi laughed at the back of his head. Yami shook his head to clear it, and then turned his attention to the person that had called his false name.

Mana was standing by one of the tables, waving her hand around to get his attention.

"Over here, over here!" she said. "Come sit with us!"

Yami no Yugi smiled slightly. Well, at least he knew people already. He wound through the crowd to make it to Mana's table. Dawn waved at him too, and Dominic grinned. Cadence appeared to be reading a book, and only gave Yami no Yugi a passing glance over the tops of her glasses before looking down again. Yami no Yugi slid into the seat next to Mana, and she popped back down too, her legs kicking back and forth excitedly. The four friends

"We saved you," Dominic said with an exaggerated gesture. "You have no idea what bullet you just missed."

"What?" Yami no Yugi said, surprised. For a moment, he thought Dominic meant an actual bullet, but then he translated quietly in his head and realized that it was a metaphor.

"Oh, shove off, Dom," Dawn said. "The girls aren't that bad."

"They would have torn you up like a pack of lionesses," Dominic said.

"Who?" Yami no Yugi said, really confused.

Mana giggled.

"Those girls over there," she said, pointing at a table just behind and to the right of theirs.

Yami no Yugi glanced over surreptitiously and found that a trio of girls were glancing at him, disappointed.

"Don't worry about them," Dawn said. "I just heard that they think you're really cute and they were going to try and get you to sit with them."

"Pack of wolves, the lot of them," Dominic said, nodding.

Dawn smacked him on the shoulder. Yami no Yugi couldn't help but smile. He was glad he was sitting here, at least. He didn't want to judge the other three girls just by looking at them, but he had a feeling that this table would be a much better place for him.

"Oh, did you not get your lunch yet?" Mana asked.

"Uh, no," Yami no Yugi said. "I...I'm not sure how it works..."

"Oh!" Mana said, hopping up. "C'mon, I'll show you!"

"Thank you," Yami no Yugi started to say, but he was cut off by the soft snap of Cadence's book closing.

"Don't, Mana, you just got your food; it will get cold," she said. "I'll show him how it works. I have a boxed lunch; it can wait."

For a split second, the whole table seemed to get quiet. Dawn was sending Cadence a strange look that Cadence was ignoring. Mana glanced between her two girl friends and Yami, a bit confused. Then she shrugged.

"Okay," she said. "Don't worry, Yami, she'll probably do a better job of explaining than I will!"

"All right," he said.

He didn't like the way that Cadence was looking at him, though. It was...expressionless. As though she were holding her emotions back, trying to keep him from reading her. He had met many people with game faces before, but none quite so hard to decipher as her's. After all, previously he had only had to figure out the feelings of his opponents, and this wasn't a game. He wondered if perhaps this was just how Cadence was, like the way Kaiba acted.

"Thank you," he said, standing simultaneously with Cadence. "Cadence, right?"

Cadence barely acknowledged that he had spoken. She swept past him, causing him to hurry to keep up. She walked with a tight, quick clip, and he almost ran into her when she stopped in the line.

"You follow this line," she said. "The day's special is at the beginning. Tell the servers if you want the full lunch or if you just want certain parts of it. There are vegetarian options if necessary. A la carte items are at the end. Use your student ID card to pay at the end."

She spoke so quickly that Yami almost couldn't keep up with it, and he missed several words in his haste to translate mentally.

"Ah, right," he said. "Thank you."

Cadence turned to face him then. Her gray eyes seemed cold and distant through her thick glasses. This time, Yami had no trouble in determining her emotions towards him. This was an expression that he had seen several times before. He had seen it in Kaiba's eyes. In Marik's. Although he could not understand why it was coming from this girl, whom he had known for all of a half hour.

It was hate.

He tensed, meeting her gaze with an intense one of his own. He would not back down.

"Is there a problem?" he asked.

She did not answer at first, though her lips tightened slightly. For a moment, her eyes flicked towards the table. He did not drop his eyes to see exactly what she was looking at. Her gaze returned to meet his.

"You don't belong here," she said. "Get out while you still can."

And before he could press her to clarify her statement, she brushed past him with a whoosh.

Yami was left alone in the lunch line, still as tense as though he were about to play a Shadow Game.

"_What have we gotten ourselves into, partner?"_

"_Other me?"_Yugi asked tentatively. _"__What's going on?"_

Yami no Yugi shook his head slowly.

"_I'm...not sure..."_

* * *

His last class of the day, science, he shared with Mana, Dominic, and Cadence. Mana had motioned for him to sit in the seat behind her, and for some reason, the act of sitting in a classroom with her made him feel that strange sense of deja vu again.

The second the bell rang, Mana popped up and whirled around to face him, even as the teacher continued to talk about the homework over the heads of the fleeing students.

"Well?" she asked eagerly. "How did you like your first day?"

"Leave off, Mana, the bell _just _rang," Dominic said, rolling his eyes.

Yami no Yugi grinned anyway. Yugi had popped back into the puzzle the moment Mana had turned to face them.

"It was very fun," he said. "Very interesting. I'm having a bit of trouble keeping up so far...but I think I'll get the hang of people talking so quickly in English."

Mana smiled, her whole face lighting up.

"Oh, I'm so glad! I really love this school, so I'm glad that you like it too!"

Her cheer was infectious; he could even see Cadence smiling slightly. The expression faded, of course, once she noticed that he was glancing at her.

"Do you want to come with us and Dawn to the square?" Mana asked. "I want to show you our favorite cafe! We always go after school. I mean, I can't imagine you're doing anything since you just got here, and besides you're going to be staying with Dawn's family and she'll be with us, so it'll be nice to see Risgate better and stuff and -"

Dawn appeared from behind them, throwing her arms around Mana's neck in a hug. Mana squealed and almost fell over.

"You're going to smother him!" Dawn laughed. "Give him some room to breathe, Miss Energetic!"

Mana giggled as she extracted herself from Dawn's grip. Yami no Yugi could not suppress his smile, and he didn't want to. He could even hear Yugi laughing in the back of his head.

This was nice. It was nice to not have anything weighing on his mind, no world to save or tournament to focus on, no evil psychopaths out to kill him or his friends. He could just sit here and laugh with these people, friendly people that didn't know about his mysterious past or the secrets of the Puzzle, people that didn't have to share his burdens with him. He wasn't quite sure who he was, but he felt like he could be himself completely at this moment, whoever himself really was.

"I'd love to join you," he said. "I'd like to see more of Risgate, too."

"Great!" Mana said, eyes lighting up.

Cadence's smile faded again, and her eyes flashed warningly at him. He ignored her. It wasn't worth it to antagonize her, and it probably wouldn't be worth it to try and bring her around. He would not let her ruin his enjoyment of the day. After all, she was only a human, not some crazy person out to destroy the world, so why get worried? He couldn't be friends with everyone, unfortunately.

He slid his books into his bag and followed the crew out of the classroom. Mana kept up her usual chatter, filling Yami no Yugi in on names and families in the neighborhood, who had a dog, who shouted at kids to stay off the grass, and a billion other things that he knew he would never remember if his life depended on it.

It was brisk outside, but not as cold as it had been that morning. They followed the road back towards the square, passing through the neighborhood where Cadence lived.

Most of the snow had been pushed from the sidewalks and roads making small walls between the two pathways.

"Here!" Mana announced. "Right here, this is it!"

They stopped in front of a small store front across from Dominic's family's flower shop. Dim, atmospheric lighting filtered through the large windows. The green and pink striped awning hung heavy with snow, providing a deeper reflection through which it was easier to see inside. He caught a glimpse of cheerful, brightly colored tables and chairs, a low bar, and the decal on the window that featured a sundae with a cherry on top and the name Cherry Bites Cafe in swirly letters. Then Mana was opening the door and waving everyone inside. Yami caught the door and held it open for Mana to go ahead of him. She giggled and thanked him, and then they were inside the heated building.

"This is our favorite cafe," Mana said. "Well, at least in the winter, cause it's heated!"

"In the summer we go to the outdoor cafe by the park, Sweet Spoon," Dawn said. "It's closed for the winter, though."

"Cherry's got _much_ better service, though," Dominic said, sending a wink to the girl at the counter.

The blonde rolled her eyes, half smiling.

"One, no chatting me up at work. Two, not happening, Dom," the girl said. "Hiya, kids."

"Worth a shot," Dominic said. "I'll take a chocolate, please."

"Yami, this is Keira, my foster sister," Mana said. "Keira, this is Yami. He's our exchange student. He's from Japan!"

The girl smiled, causing crinkles in the corners of her hazel eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Yami," she said. She reached across the counter to shake Yami no Yugi's hand. "She driving you up the wall yet?"

"Keira!" Mana said.

Yami no Yugi laughed a little.

"No, not at all. Your sister has been very welcoming."

Keira grinned.

"Glad to hear it," she said. "Thanks for putting up with her. Can I get you something? It's on the house to celebrate your first visit."

Yami no Yugi tried to protest, but neither Keira nor Mana would hear about it. So he gave up and took the hot chocolate that would pushed at him, following the rest of the group towards a booth table.

"Budge up, Dawn, give me some room," Dominic said, pushing Dawn with his shoulder.

Dawn pinched him and he yelped, prompting a spurt of giggles from Mana. Somehow, Yami no Yugi ended up sitting between Mana and Cadence, and he tried extra hard not to look in Cadence's direction.

The heat of the hot chocolate mug between his hands was comforting. He let the steam spiral upwards around his face for a while before attempting a sip.

"So, Yami," Mana said. "What's Japan like? What do you like to do?"

"Well," Yami said, thinking about it. "It's certainly more busy."

There were only three other groups in the cafe, and there was little more than a faint rustle of voices in the background. Much different than the cafes he was used to going to with his friends.

"My friends and I go to places a bit like this sometimes...there's one place in downtown Domino called Radar Cafe. It's a duel cafe."

"A what?" Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi blinked, and realized that he hadn't seen a single Duel Cafe in Risgate so far.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I forgot they're not as popular outside of Japan and America," he said. "A duel cafe is a restaurant with lots of Battle Boxes; they're made to create holograms for the Duel Monsters card game. My friends and I like to play that a lot."

"Oh, Duel Monsters," Dominic said, nodding. "I know a few people that play it. I bought a pack once; didn't understand much, though."

"Oh, right! You play that, right Dawn?" Mana said, leaning across the table towards her friend. "I remember you showed me your cards"

Yami no Yugi glanced across at the blonde with a bit of interested.

"I play a little," Dawn said, nodding. "Not many people to play with here, though, so I use the online thing a lot."

"What kind of deck do you use?" Yami no Yugi asked.

"Mostly spellcasters."

"I have a lot of those," Yami no Yugi said, smiling to himself.

The thought struck a chord in his head. For a moment, he looked at Dawn, his mind wandering towards spellcasters – what was it about spellcasters and Dawn that...

"Dawn's said it's really popular in Japan," Dominic said, breaking Yami no Yugi out of his reverie. "You pretty good?"

"I've...won a few tournaments," Yami no Yugi said.

Yugi snickered at the back of his head.

"_Yep, just a few. Not like we're the world champion or anything."_

Yami no Yugi half-smiled.

"_Oh hush. I kind of like not being recognized," _he said.

"Wow, that's awesome!" Mana said. "Oh, oh, oh! Maybe you could teach me how to play! Dawn, can I borrow your cards?"

"They're at my house, silly," Dawn said, reaching over to flip her friend's hair into her face. "Maybe you should make your own deck, then! I think the comic store down the street sells packs."

"It's a waste of money," Cadence said, her voice only just audible.

Everyone glanced at her. Mana leaned over the table to look at Cadence around Yami no Yugi.

"Huh? What's wrong, Cadence?" Mana asked.

Yami no Yugi's eyes narrowed slightly. Cadence wasn't looking at either of them.

"It's only a game, Mana," Cadence said, sipping at her mug. "Do you really want to spend a whole bunch of money on trading cards? They don't last long. They're only slips of paper."

Yami no Yugi's mouth tightened.

"Please don't take offense," Yami no Yugi said, trying to sound as calm as possible. "But I have yet to see something that is 'just' a game. Games are very important. They bring people together."

He could see Cadence's fingers tighten slightly on her mug.

"Yeah, Kay," Mana said, pouting. "It'll be fun! Maybe you should play too! Come on!"

Cadence's lips tightened slightly, but she forced a smile.

"Thank you, but I'm not very interested."

Mana frowned, then shrugged.

"Okay, that's fine," she said. "But you'll teach me, right, Yami?"

Yami no Yugi turned away from looking at Cadence.

"Of course," Yami no Yugi said. "I'd love to. It's a great game."

He was actually pretty excited. It wasn't often that he got to meet someone completely new at the game; he hadn't really gotten to teach Jonouchi that much. Grandpa had done that. He hadn't expected to be able to play any Duel Monsters on this trip.

"Then let's go to the comic store when we're finished!" Mana said.

Yami no Yugi could have sworn he could feel Cadence's glance boring into him.

They finished up their drinks, said goodbye to Keira, and headed back into the cold. Despite leaving the heated shop, the cold didn't seem so bitter anymore. There were also a lot more people on the streets, and it seemed a lot livelier.

The comic store was a short walk from the cafe – it seemed that everything in this town was a short walk. Once inside, Dominic veered off towards the superhero comics. Dawn pointed out the trading card aisle, and then seemed to catch sight of something interesting and grabbed Cadence to drag her off and show her. Cadence gave Yami no Yugi a dirty look as she passed.

Mana and Yami no Yugi ended up by themselves in front of the packs.

"Hum," Mana said. "I don't know. I wish I could tell what was inside."

There was much less selection than Yami no Yugi was used to, and even Yugi was a tad disappointed.

"Oh! Maybe this starter deck?" Mana said, picking up the box.

"Oh? Let me see," Yami no Yugi said.

She handed the box to him. He flipped it over to read the deck list, and after a moment, frowned and shook his head.

"No good. The balance is off; too many monsters," he said, putting the box back. "It might be less certain, but I've always found that building your own from the packs is better in the long run."

Mana nodded and picked up two, looking at each one.

"That makes sense. Because then you're really getting to know your cards and stuff, and you can connect better with them if you choose them yourself, right?"

Yami no Yugi's head jerked up to look at her.

"Uh...yes," he said. "Exactly."

He took the "heart of the cards" for granted. It was something that he often mentioned to his friends and argued about with Kaiba. But he had never, ever heard another person, especially a non-duelist, even hint at that kind of connection with the cards.

"Yes," he said again, looking down at the cards. "There's...a kind of soul to this game. You have to trust your cards completely."

He couldn't imagine how odd that must sound to someone outside of his normal circle. Mana seemed to understand perfectly, though. She smiled as she looked through the packs.

"It's so cool," she said. "I've seen Dawn's cards. They're kinda...like magic in a way, I guess. I don't know, though. I've always loved magic – I'm always saying things are magic!"

Yami no Yugi's smile grew again. He glanced sidelong at her. She was chewing on her lip as she considered two packs, holding one in each palm as though she could weigh them against each other and find out what was inside. She seemed to get it. So easily – the magic of Duel Monsters, something that he had assumed few others recognized.

It made him feel warm in his chest.

"Okay, I'm getting these," Mana said, brandishing a small stack of packs. "I can't wait to see what cards I got! Oh, you have to show me yours, too! And how to choose them and stuff."

"No problem," Yami no Yugi said. "You've been so welcoming; I hope I can repay you through this."

"You don't have to repay me for anything, silly," Mana said.

Mana paid for her purchase, then scurried off to grab Dominic from the comics section and meet back up with Dawn and Cadence at the door.

Standing outside on the sidewalk, Mana slit open one of her packs.

"I'm just too excited to wait!" she said. "Oooo, look! How pretty!"

She held up the first card for them all to see.

"Magician's Valkyria – wow, lucky pick," Yami no Yugi said. "That's not a very common card."

Dominic gave a low whistle as he leaned down to look.

"Now why can't real girls be as fit as that?" he said.

Dawn elbowed him in the gut.

"And why won't girls stop hitting me?" he moaned.

"Hm, I wonder," Cadence said dryly.

Mana continued to riffle through the cards. Yami no Yugi snuck a peek over her shoulder. She had picked a good pack already, snagging some more good cards: Magic Cylinder, Spell Binding Circle.

Mana was showing Yami no Yugi the different colored cards and asking him what the differences were when something caught his attention and made him pause in midsentence.

Sunlight glimmered through hair so long and fine that it could have been made from platinum wire. Deep blue eyes shone as though she were about to cry – although her expression was more confused than anything. Her skin was pale, but her cheeks and nose were red from the cold. She wore only a brown t-shirt and jeans, and she was shuddering from the wind.

Yami no Yugi realized two things in the space of an instant: one, that she had most definitely not been standing there a second before.

Two: she was staring right at him and trying to speak.

Her mouth moved, but it was stiff and he could not read the words that she was unable to give sound to.

Then she collapsed face forward into the snow.

It all happened so quickly that no one else noticed until they heard the crunch of snow on impact. Yami no Yugi raced forward, Dawn the first one on his heels.

He reached for her wrist as Dawn rolled her over, eyes wide. Yami no Yugi felt for a pulse.

"She's breathing," Dawn said.

"Heartbeat's normal," Yami no Yugi said. "But she's_freezing!_"

Touching her skin was like touching a metal pole that had been sitting in the snow for several days. It was a wonder she wasn't dead of frostbite.

"Oh no oh no oh no," Mana said, running up with eyes wide.

Cadence put a soothing hand on Mana's shoulder and Mana leaned into the taller girl. Mana looked as though she might be about to have a panic attack.

"What happened? Where did she come from? Is she okay?" Mana asked.

"Looks mostly all right," Dominic said. "Dawn, let's take her to the clinic."

"Good idea," Dawn said.

Yami no Yugi helped Dominic lift the girl up. She was incredibly light, but Yami no Yugi wasn't quite tall enough to be able to carry her correctly.

"I'll call ahead," Dawn said, reaching for her cell phone.

Mana was still shaking, and the blonde girl took her head reassuringly. Yami no Yugi moved to follow, but then Cadence was standing in front of him.

His fists rolled up of their own accord. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

"What?" he finally said.

"This is your fault," Cadence said through clenched teeth. "She's not supposed to be here."

She glared at him one more time, even more furiously than before.

"You're going to ruin everything."

Then she spun on her heel and ran to catch up. Yami no Yugi glowered at her head, and also broke into a jog.

Whatever was happening in Risgate, whatever Cadence was going to hate him for, he was not going anywhere.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand I wonder if you've already figured out who Dawn is. I didn't exactly try to hide it. XD In case some people don't know, though, don't put it in the reviews! If somehow I'm cleverer than I think I am, I want to keep it a surprise! XD A begonia means ****_beware._**


	4. Holiday Crocus

_((Are you ready for thousands of words of fluff with like one plot point in the whole chapter because I'm ready XD))_

* * *

The clinic was a small building for a small town, not at all like the Domino City Hospital. It had only three floors and took up only a little over double the space of a normal house – in fact, it was connected directly to one of the houses in the neighborhood.

Yami no Yugi held the doors open so Dominic could ease his way through with the unconscious girl. There was a sleepy looking red-headed girl at the desk. Her head jerked up from where it had been leaning against her hand when she saw them come in. She hit a bell on the desk and shouted for Doctor Grey as she jogged into the hallway. She came back with a gurney and helped Dominic shift the girl onto it.

As they completed this process, a man came out from the back. He was young-looking, no older than his thirties, with high cheek bones and dark brown hair that was currently held back in a tight ponytail. Had it been let down, it probably would have gone past his shoulders. He was wearing the typical white coat that would identify him as a doctor, his blue-gray eyes calm and quick as he assessed the situation.

"What's the status?" he asked as he came up to the group.

"She just collapsed. She's really, really cold, dad," Dawn said.

He nodded – so this was Dawn's father?

"Good work getting her here," he said. He smiled and put a hand on Dawn's shoulder. She relaxed visibly at the touch.

"Sera and I will take care of the rest. Why don't you and your friends head into the house?"

He and the red-head pushed the gurney back into the hospital.

For a few moments, the group stayed in the lobby, quiet. Yami no Yugi stared at the hallway for a minute.

There had been something incredibly familiar about that man...and something about him felt off. Like...like something about him was the wrong color.

"Well, let's not block the entry," Dawn said. "Come on, my house is right over here."

She gestured to a door on the side of the lobby, and held it open for the group to filter in. It came straight into a kitchen. The worn wooden floor had been swept clean, and all the surfaces, though old-looking, were meticulously clean. There was one small window towards the front, but the rest of the walls were taken up by a door into a small hallway and cabinets along the warm yellow walls.

Dawn trotted over to the cabinet.

"Anybody hungry?" she asked, pulling out a container full of what appeared to be cookies.

"Uh, did you make those, or your dad?" Dominic asked, looking suspicious.

Dawn stuck her tongue out at him.

"Dad made them. Glad to know you appreciate my cooking."

"You _cannot_ call those charred rock cakes of yours cooking."

Dawn threw a cookie at him, which he caught and popped in his mouth, grinning. Dawn rolled her eyes. She plopped down into a seat and patted the one next to her for Mana to sit down. Cadence took a spot on the other side of her, and Dominic and Yami no Yugi sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"You going to be all right, Mana?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah," Mana said, ducking her head. "That was just...kinda scary, you know? I hope she'll be okay."

"You shouldn't worry, Mana. You know Dr. Grey is very good at his work," Cadence said.

Then she sent Yami no Yugi a glance that said it was his fault that Mana was worrying. Yami no Yugi decided not to respond to the gesture, accepting the cookie that Dawn offered him with a nod of thanks.

"Well, why don't you open the rest of your cards?" Dawn said. "Then Yami and I can help you build a deck while we wait for my dad to come back and tell us what's up."

"Sure," Mana said, brightening slightly.

Dawn set the container of cookies down and trotted off to get her own cards. Yami no Yugi reached into his back for his deck while Mana started slitting open the rest of the cards.

She had then all laid out on the table by card type by the time Dawn returned. The blonde girl slid into her chair and started pointing out the difference between normal and effect monsters, which Mana listened to with great attentiveness.

"What cards do you have?" Dominic asked Yami no Yugi.

"Mostly spellcasters and warriors. A few beasts. Here, I'll show you."

He spread his own cards out on the table to show Dominic. He was suddenly glad that he had left the three God Cards in the care of Grandpa back home. He didn't really want them here right now. Then Mana asked Yami no Yugi a question about trap cards, and Yami no Yugi leaned over to see what she was talking about.

Dawn came around the table to lean over Dominic's shoulder, looking through Yami no Yugi's cards. She occasionally would bat at Dominic's hand as he pointed at one, telling him not to touch another duelist's cards, because this game was serious business – in Japan especially. Yami no Yugi was secretly grateful to Dawn – he didn't particularly want people to be poking at his cards.

After a while, Mana had carefully compiled a deck. She had gotten very lucky; most of her pack finds were spellcasters, with a few beasts and dragons thrown in. The sun was setting outside the window.

"I'd better be going. Got to help da with the flowers tonight," Dominic said, standing up from the table.

"Oh, is it that late already?" Mana said, head jerking up.

She pouted at the digital clock on the wall.

"No fair. I gotta go too," she said. "Dawn, you'll tell me what happens with Miss Enigma, right?"

"You named her?" Dawn said teasingly.

"Just until she tells us her real name!"

Dawn laughed.

"Of course, I'll let you know when dad finds out she's okay," Dawn said.

Mana nodded, satisfied. Then she turned to Yami no Yugi.

"Let's play the game tomorrow after school, okay?"

"Sure," Yami no Yugi said. "I look forward to it."

Mana gathered up her cards and placed them carefully in a pocket of her bag.

"I'll walk you home," Cadence said.

"Thanks," Mana said. "Bye everyone! See you tomorrow!"

Yami no Yugi smiled and waved. A few moments later, it was only Yami no Yugi and Dawn. Dawn yawned, stretching.

"Well," she said. "I don't know how late my dad's working, so why don't I show you the room you'll be using?"

"That would be great, thank you," Yami no Yugi said.

He followed her down the hall from the kitchen and up a narrow flight of stairs, then to the right down another hall. The room was three doors down from the stairs.

"My dad just cleaned it, so it shouldn't be dusty or anything," Dawn said.

She pushed the door open. It was actually a tad bigger than Yugi's room at home. The walls were half plaster towards the top and wood on the bottom half, which stretched into the same color as the wooden floor. A large window pointed out towards the rest of the neighborhood. It was already getting dark out. That was winter for you. The bed was nestled in the corner to the right of the window, and there was a desk on the other side of the window.

"Not a bad view, huh?" Dawn said.

"It's perfect. Thank you," Yami no Yugi said. He bowed slightly in the way he was used to doing in Japan before he remembered that they didn't do that in England. Dawn didn't even miss a beat, though, bowing right back so perfectly that she might have been Japanese herself.

Then she yawned again.

"Ugh. I haven't gotten much sleep in the last couple days," she said, stretching. "If you don't mind, I'll probably be heading to bed in a few, after I get my homework. Jeez. Bathroom's down the hall to the left. I'll let you get settled and stuff."

"Thank you again," Yami no Yugi said.

Dawn winked.

"No problem! While you're here, our home is your home. I hope I'll get to introduce my dad properly tomorrow, though. Sorry about that, he's always busy.

"It's not a problem."

"Still," Dawn said.

She shrugged.

"Well, see you in the morning, I guess. Good night."

"Good night."

She bobbed her head at him and bounced from the room.

Yami no Yugi drew in a deep breath. What a long day. Great, but long.

A projection of Yugi appeared beside him.

"Well," Yugi said. "Having a lot of fun?"

Yami no Yugi ducked his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't mean to hog the time."

Yugi just grinned at him.

"How many times do I have to say it! I don't care! I'm really just here for school, anyway. Besides, this is huge! You getting to make friends all by yourself! I'm proud of you."

He patted Yami no Yugi lightly on the shoulder, prompting a small laugh from the spirit.

"As long as you're okay with it," Yami no Yugi said. "Hmmm...what time is it in Japan?"

"Um...really early in the morning. It's already tomorrow, there."

No wonder Yami no Yugi felt so incredibly tired. He sunk onto the bed. For a brief moment, they both just sat. Then Yugi gently came back into control, and Yami no Yugi sank gratefully back into the Puzzle. He watched sleepily as Yugi unpacked and star

Sometime during Yugi's moving around, Yami no Yugi drifted off.

He didn't actually sleep. He had found some time ago that he didn't need it, and didn't really reach a level of unconsciousness that was akin to sleep. Still, it was blissful release, and it came without dreams for once. He came to again to find Yugi was still awake. He had set up the laptop they had brought on the desk.

"_Oh, you're awake, other me,"_ Yugi said. _"__I was just talking to everybody."_

"_What time is it...?"_

"_Here? About...almost ten. It's nearly six in Japan."_

Yami no Yugi surfaced enough to register that there were four faces on the screen in their own little boxes. In the top left was Anzu, next to her was Jonouchi, below him was Honda, and on the last one was Ryo.

"Other me's awake," Yugi said to them.

"Oh, tell him good morning, then," Anzu said.

"It's not morning over there, Anzu," Jonouchi said.

"I don't need _you_ to tell me that, Jonouchi."

"How are you doing, other Yugi?" Ryo asked.

Yami no Yugi switched into control for a moment.

"Very good, actually," he said. "It's very peaceful up here."

Jonouchi groaned and folded his arms.

"I tell ya, Yugi, you got out at the best possible time. You wouldn't believe the workload they're throwing on us."

"Don't mind him," Honda said, grinning. "He's just irritated because Kaiba came to classes yesterday."

"Kaiba? Why?" Yami no Yugi asked.

Yugi surfaced again.

"Oh, don't tell me...is that what Anzu was talking about?"

"Yeah," Anzu said, rolling her eyes. "He wants you to be in his next tournament. It's not even until spring, but he wants to make sure you commit. Something Prix."

Yami no Yugi sighed, popping back into control.

"He's never going to give up, is he?" he said, then Yugi switched back in.

"I can't believe he came to class for that. Didn't I tell him I was going someplace?"

"Why would you tell that jerk anything?" Jonouchi grumbled. "He ain't your coordinator, he doesn't need to know everything you're doing."

"Jonouchi-kun, he _is_ our friend," Yugi said.

"I'm pretty sure only _you_ think that, Yug."

"Anyway," Anzu said, cutting in before Jonouchi go on a rant. "We were thinking of coming to visit when break comes around."

"What? Really?" Yugi said, sounding excited. "But...airfare is expensive, right?"

Anzu looked a tad guilty.

"Weeell," she said.

"Kaiba-san offered to buy plane tickets on the condition that you participate in that tournament," Ryo said, smiling.

"I didn't tell him yes, or anything," Anzu said quickly. "I'm not going to speak for you."

"Go ahead and say yes," Yugi said. "I'd love you guys to see this place, and meet everyone we met today. I don't mind tournaments, you know that! Besides, a normal one without the world at stake would be fun!"

"Great!" said Jonouchi.

"I can't wait," Anzu said. "I hope you're having fun!"

"Don't worry, Anzu, I am."

She smiled warmly at him, and Yami no Yugi could feel the barely suppressed happiness that filtered through his partner's mind. He smiled to himself.

"Well, we'll have to be getting ready to go to school soon," Honda said.

"Right, and you should sleep, Yugi," Anzu said. "Don't make the other Yugi take you to school again!"

Yugi laughed.

"Don't worry, Anzu, I'll sleep this time," he said. "Good night, everybody."

"G'night."

"Night, Yugi."

"Bye."

"See you soon!"

Yugi logged off. He leaned back in his chair, sighing.

"_Well, partner, you should probably make good on that promise of yours,"_ Yami no Yugi said. _"__Go to bed."_

"Ugh, you act like a mom sometimes," Yugi said. "Okay, okay."

Yami no Yugi smiled quietly again, then sank back into the labyrinth of his soul, back to his half-sleep state.

* * *

In the morning, Yugi was still groggy, trying to get over his jet lag. Yami no Yugi, on the other hand, felt completely fresh and rested. Perhaps there were benefits to his own strange sleep patterns. Yami no Yugi let Yugi sleep. He got dressed, and, upon hearing voices downstairs, padded softly down to the kitchen.

Dawn was sitting at the table with a steaming cup, tea by the smell of it. Her father was standing at the stove, pouring another cup. This morning, his hair was down, and it did in fact fall past his shoulders. He looked up just as Yami no Yugi arrived in the doorway, as though he had known he was right there. For the second time, Yami no Yugi was struck by a sense of familiarity.

"Ah, good morning," he said. "My apologies for last night. My job can cause me to work long hours."

"No, it's all right. You're doing a very important job," Yami no Yugi said.

The man smiled.

"I'm Darcy Grey," he said. "You can just call me Darcy. Would you like some tea?"

He offered Yami no Yugi the cup he had just poured.

"Thank you," Yami no Yugi said, accepting it. "I'm Mutou Yami."

"Yes, my daughter talked about you," Darcy said. He smiled slightly as though there were some joke there. "Thank you for helping her and her friends bring in that girl last night. All of you and your quick actions probably saved her."

He gestured that Yami no Yugi should sit. Dawn looked groggily up at him from under her messy bangs.

"Hey," she mumbled. "It's morning."

Yami no Yugi suppressed a grin.

"It is," he said.

"_Why_ is it morning?" Dawn moaned, letting her head flop to the table.

Darcy turned back towards the stove and started portioning something from a pan onto plates. A soft bell-like tone emanated through the house. Darcy frowned. He paused to wipe his hands on his apron.

"Dawn, will you finish breakfast? Just put the things on plates," he said.

Dawn grunted an affirmative as Darcy reached for a phone on the wall.

"Yes? This is Dr. Grey," he said.

Dawn managed to pull herself off the table and stumbled towards the stove. She finished plopping things on plates, then stumbled back towards the table and pushed a plate at Yami no Yugi.

He thanked her, but she didn't seem to hear him. Her face was back to being pressed against the table. Quietly, he pressed his hands together and muttered a quick _"__itadakimasu."_

He was not at all sure about the English breakfast, and could not remember having ever used a fork. Dawn was no help to watch off of since she wasn't eating yet, so he was going to have to do the best he could. What was this fried meat strip, anyway? It smelled good...but how did you eat it?

Darcy put the phone back down on its hook.

"I'll be right back. That girl from last night is up; I'd like to see how she's doing."

Yami no Yugi nodded, and Darcy took off his apron as he headed through the door into the hospital.

After a little while, Dawn seemed to wake up, and started to tear into the breakfast with a relish. Yami no Yugi silently watched her out of the corner of his eye so that he could figure out how he was supposed to eat scrambled eggs with a fork. Turned out the meat strip was a finger food, and it was absolutely delicious.

"Yum," Dawn said when she was done, leaning back in her chair. "That was better than usual!"

Yami no Yugi was still have trouble getting eggs onto his fork, so he wasn't quite done yet. Yugi was waking up, probably adjusting to the memory of having eaten as well.

The door opened again, and Darcy was back. But he wasn't alone this time: the white-haired girl was with him.

Dawn perked up a bit.

"Oh! Good morning," she said. "Are you feeling all right?"

The girl ducked her head slightly.

"Y-yes," she said softly. "Thank you."

She was not British, that was for certain. Her accent was a tad on the French side, although there was another sort of lilt to it that Yami no Yugi could not place. Her English was pronounced perfectly, though.

"It looks like she was just suffering from too much cold, and not enough to eat," Darcy said, nodding. "I've invited her to have breakfast with us...as she says she's not sure where her home or parents are."

Her shoulders drew up and she ducked her head a little further. It wasn't so much a shy gesture as it was...a nervous one, Yami no Yugi thought. It was almost as if she were a frightened animal who thought she might have to defend herself.

"Thank you," she murmured. "I wish...I could remember..."

"Don't push yourself," Darcy said firmly. "Sit down, I'll get you something to eat. You need to get your strength back. Memories will come back with time – it's probably just shock."

She nodded quietly. She still hesitated before sitting down, and she perched herself precariously on the very edge, as though afraid to touch too much of it.

"I'm Dawn," Dawn said to her. "Dawn Marisa Grey. And this is Yami Mutou. He's an exchange student from Japan."

She waited a few beats for the girl to supply her own name. She didn't answer for a few moments, but she did glance up between her long bangs to look at Yami no Yugi, as though he were a puzzle she couldn't figure out.

After a very long silence passed in which things were beginning to get awkward, she said,

"I'm...Kisara," she said. "I...think. Kisara...Winter."

"That's a really pretty name," Dawn said, almost encouragingly.

Darcy set a plate in front of Kisara. She ducked her head slightly – again, it seemed less shy and more defensive. There was something distinctly...animalistic about her current state. Although she looked like she was hunched and shy, Yami no Yugi could almost feel her tensity. She was ready to fight if she had to.

He wondered briefly if she really had forgotten everything about where she came from, or if she was just afraid to go no, that didn't seem right.

"_She seems a little off, don't you think?" _Yugi thought at him. _"__Like...I dunno. Like she's not quite the right shape for the rest of the puzzle, you know?"_

"_I think I know what you mean,"_ Yami no Yugi thought back. _"__But she's also scared. I think we should give her a chance to relax."_

Kisara poked dubiously at the meal with her fork. Darcy had sat down at the last seat of the table and was sipping at his tea.

"Dawn, what time are you leaving for school?"

"In about fifteen minutes," Dawn said. "Oh, as long as you'll be ready, Yami."

"Sure," Yami no Yugi said.

"We have to be there in time to meet up with Mana and everyone."

Yami no Yugi nodded. Kisara's hand twitched for a moment, and her brow wrinkled with slight confusion. Then she shook her head and started to eat small, delicate bites of the food.

That didn't last long; she was obviously starving, and the highly dignified eating process quickly gave way to a quicker one. Dawn popped from her chair and scurried back into the hall, presumably going to get dressed. Darcy got distracted by another phone call and said he had to pop over to the desk in the hospital for a moment. He left the door open between the lobby and the kitchen, but it still ended up that Kisara and Yami no Yugi were alone at the table.

Kisara had finished her meal quickly. In fact, she looked like she could have eaten more, but it looked like there weren't any leftovers, and the dishes had been placed in the sink already. Yami no Yugi wondered to himself if he should be offering to help clean up while he was here. It was only polite.

The thought, however, was mostly to distract him from the awkward silence that grew between him and Kisara.

She had her head down so that her extremely long bangs fell over her face like a curtain. Yami no Yugi ran his tongue over dry lips. Should he break the silence? He didn't want to startle her or anything. She looked like she had been having a rough time. She was much too thin, for starters, as though she had eaten well in weeks. And where would she go if they didn't know where she belonged, if she didn't remember? What kind of procedure was that?

She couldn't remember anything. Just like him.

He glanced up at her. He was surprised to find that she was looking up through her bangs at him, and their eyes met for a moment. Then her head dropped again and the hair fell over her eyes. Yami no Yugi looked awkwardly towards the kitchen window, wondering how long it would be before Dawn or Darcy got back.

She mumbled something. He blinked and glanced at her.

"I'm sorry?" he said.

"I feel like...I've seen you before," she repeated, just a tad louder than before. "Have I...have we...? Do you know who I am?"

The question struck Yami no Yugi to his very core. It was the very question he wished he could ask someone, and get an answer. His shoulders dropped slightly.

"I'm afraid not," Yami no Yugi said. "I wish I could help."

She slumped.

"Is that...what you were trying to ask me yesterday? When you fainted?"

She nodded quietly. Another silence passed. Then she looked up. She pushed the hair from her face, although one strand remained stubbornly hanging between her deep blue eyes.

"I can't remember anything since before yesterday morning," she said. "I was standing in that square. In the cold. And I realized that I had never felt so much cold before, and I only barely knew what snow was. I kept walking in circles, trying to find something that would tell me where I was, who I was, and then I saw _you_...and I knew...I had seen you before. I don't know...if it was from afar or if I knew you, or someone like you, but you were the only familiar thing."

She looked down at the table.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For what?" Yami no Yugi said.

"I must have scared you. Or annoyed you."

He frowned.

"No, you didn't. Of course not. Not knowing anything about yourself...that's terrifying. It really is. I understand."

She glanced up at him, surprised. He bit his tongue, worried he had said too much. Then an idea struck him.

"Wait, I might have something," he said, digging in his pocket.

He pulled out his Duel Monsters cards.

"Do these look familiar at all to you?"

She blinked. She reached tentatively for them, but hesitated, waiting for him to nod before she picked up one of the cards from the top. She examined it, turning it over in her hands with a careful, light touch.

"Yes," she said after a beat. "Yes, these are...familiar. I can't say why, but they...but they are."

"The game is Duel Monsters," Yami no Yugi said, hoping that might spark some memories for her. "I'm...well, right now I'm the world champion at this game. Perhaps you've seen me before because of that?"

She stared at the card for a while.

"It does...make sense..." she said. "But...I can't remember."

Her lips tightened and she looked like she might cry. She returned his card to him and withdrew her hands under the table, where she was presumably squeezing fists into her lap. Disappointed, Yami no Yugi returned the cards to his pocket.

"I'm sorry...I wish I could be more help," he said.

"No...no, it's okay. Thank you so much for trying."

He felt incredibly helpless. He knew more than anyone what she was feeling, and he couldn't even come up with a single thing to comfort her. He supposed it made sense. He couldn't comfort himself about it, either.

Without warning, Yugi popped back into control.

"Don't worry," Yugi said. "And don't push yourself. Memories can hurt if you try too hard. I know it's really, really hard, but...I think you only make it worse by worrying, and trying too hard to remember. It's better to relax. Memories come back better when you're not looking for them."

Yami no Yugi smiled to himself. Leave it to Yugi. The words seemed to calm Kisara down.

"You're right," she said. "Thank you. Thank you. I'll try."

"And don't be upset with yourself for being upset either," Yugi said. "Because that hurts too. Cry if you have to. Okay?"

Kisara nodded. She glanced up through her bangs at Yugi, and smiled. It was a very nice smile, Yami no Yugi thought.

Then Darcy came back into the room, and Dawn pattered in with her bag on her back.

"We gotta go, Yami!" Dawn said. "Don't wanna be late! Thanks for breakfast, dad. Nice to meet you, Kisara. I hope we can talk again soon!"

Kisara ducked her head, back into a defensive mode. Darcy smiled at Dawn and Yami no Yugi.

"Have a good day," he said.

"Thank you for breakfast," Yami no Yugi said, standing up from the table. Yugi had popped back into the Puzzle when Dawn and Darcy had appeared.

Dawn gestured down the hallway towards the entry way. Yami no Yugi hesitated just for a moment to glance at Kisara. She was looking at him again. He gave her a faint smile and a thumb's up. She smiled tentatively back.

Then Yami no Yugi followed Dawn outside into the cold morning.

* * *

The school day had gone by in a blur for Yami no Yugi. After an enthusiastic greeting from Mana and another cold glare from Cadence, they had walked to the school with Dawn filling in the other three about Kisara and that she was doing fine. Yami no Yugi had quietly returned to the Puzzle, so it was Yugi that was walking alongside the others this time. Just because they had met him first, Yami no Yugi thought, didn't mean that Yugi shouldn't have a chance to make friends with them as well.

No one really seemed to notice the change, and then classes started, and Yami no Yugi drifted into the labyrinth of his Puzzle, not very interested in paying attention to lessons today. He wandered up and down the halls of his mind. It was less of a vigorous searching and more of an idle meandering. He had stopped trying to make any sense of the place sometime after he had met Shadi. It seemed designed to confuse him, and he was determined more now than ever to relax and not try to push himself too hard. This was a projection of his own insecurities, and Yugi's words to Kisara had reminded Yami no Yugi that it wouldn't do him much good to run around the place without thinking. Perhaps if he relaxed and let go of his insecurities altogether, his soul room would figure itself out on its own.

The bell rang for the last class of the day, and the group found themselves outside again.

"Let's go to your place, Dawn! I want to meet Kisara," Mana said, gripping the straps of her backpack.

"I dunno, she seems really nervous," Dawn said. "I'm not sure we should overwhelm her..."

"Weell..." Mana said, looking disappointed. "Well, your house is closest, anyway, and Yami was going to teach me to play Duel Monsters, so we could go to your house anyway, right? I mean, she's probably staying in the hospital right now, so we just won't go bother her!"

Dawn considered it, then smiled.

"Okay, okay, we'll go to my place. But promise me you won't pester dad about her, or even tell her you know about her at all! I mean, technically I'm supposed to keep patients confidential..."

"Yay!" Mana said. She jumped up and punched the air. "I promise, Dawn, I promise!"

They trekked through the cold and snow – it had snowed a little bit more while they had been in classes. Their breath spiraled up into the gray sky, and Yami no Yugi thought his nose was going to fall off from the cold before they finally reached the Greys' house.

"I'm home! I brought everyone with me!" Dawn shouted down the hall.

"Glad to hear it," Darcy's voice floated down from the kitchen. "Come in, I've made hot chocolate."

"Yes," Dominic said, pumping his fist. "That is a brilliant thing to hear when you come in the door. Why can't my parents do that?"

"Because your parents like to experiment with different kinds of tea," Cadence said.

"Don't remind me," Dominic said, making a face.

After knocking off their boots and hanging up their coats, the group milled down the hallway and into the kitchen, where Darcy was setting out mugs. Yami no Yugi had ended up at the front of the line with Dawn, and was surprised to see Kisara sitting at the table. She flinched slightly at the sight of so many people, and instinctively dropped her head so that her hair fell over her face like a curtain.

"Oh! Kisara!" Dawn said. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you'd be here...dad, you should have warned her we were all coming!"

"I did," Darcy said, frowning. "Kisara, I told you it's perfectly fine if you want to go upstairs for now; I understand if this is all very overstimulating."

Kisara shrank slightly into her shoulders, but shook her head slightly.

"No, I don't...didn't want to...thank you..."

Darcy's eyebrows drew together slightly, but he nodded. He turned his aqua-gray eyes to the group trapped bottle-necked in the doorway. He nodded at them, and they sheepishly moved all the way out into the kitchen.

"Kisara is having troubles remembering where she came from," Darcy explained. "The police have interviewed her and are starting an investigation, but until that time, I have offered to let her stay here with us."

Kisara shrank down a little bit more. Concerned, Yami no Yugi sidled through the group so that he was standing nearer the table. She glanced up through her bangs at him, and seemed to relax slightly. Then her eyes turned to the rest of the group, slowly, as though evaluating each one individually. The room was a bit quiet and awkward, as though everyone was afraid that a sudden move might startle her.

Then, Mana plopped herself into the seat across from Kisara. She pushed one of the hot chocolate mugs towards Kisara, and then pulled one towards herself. She smiled warmly.

"I'm Mana Raful," she said. "Pleased to meet you!"

Kisara blinked. She looked at the mug in front of her. Cautiously, she wrapped her long fingers around it, feeling at the heat. Then she looked up at the still smiling Mana again.

The white-haired girl smiled faintly.

The tension broke. It was like a breath had been let out that no one had known they were holding. Yami no Yugi took a seat on the left of Kisara, across from Mana. Dawn sat down on Kisara's other side, and Dominic and Cadence ended up on either side of Mana.

"So this is Dominic McGuire, and that's Cadence Mulloy," Mana said, pointing to everyone. "And you already met Yami and Dawn, I guess."

Dominic gave her a smile and a little two-fingered salute, and Cadence nodded. When she wasn't glaring at Yami no Yugi, she actually had a very calm and open sort of aura about her. Well, at least her strange hatred didn't extend to Kisara; that was the last thing the poor girl needed right now.

Kisara nodded silently. However, it seemed that her tensity had faded, and she appeared to be greatly enjoying her hot chocolate. Yami no Yugi himself was very grateful for the sweet, warm liquid. The cold had seemed to seep into every inch of him. He needed the supplemental warmth.

Mana took another sip of her chocolate. Then she reached for the bag that she had dropped beside her chair and rummaged around. She pulled out her Duel Monsters cards with a triumphant gesture.

"Okay!" she said. "Yami, time for you to teach me this game!"

Yami no Yugi smiled.

"Okay," he said, going for his own cards.

Dominic leaned in as Yami no Yugi showed Mana the best way to cut and shuffle her cards. Cadence sniffed reprovingly, muttering something about a waste of time and money, but Kisara was watching with fascination, dark eyes glimmering in the light. It seemed that the earlier revelation about the cards being connected to her memories had left an impression on her, and she watched the pair of duelists with interest.

"Okay, so what do I do?" Mana said, looking at the five cards she had drawn. "Why don't you just go first, Yami?"

"Okay," Yami said. "First, you draw a card from your deck, and then you can choose a monster to summon...it has to be level four or lower, though."

"Oh, no," Mana muttered.

Yami no Yugi hid a smile with his cards. She must have drawn all high level monsters.

"I'll summon Big Shield Gardna in defense position," Yami no Yugi said. "And then I'll place these two cards face down. Turn end."

"Oh, oh, what do I do now?"

"Draw a card, Mana," Dominic said.

"Oh, right!"

She drew a card, but her face fell when she saw it. She didn't have the hint of a poker face, did she?

"Uuuum...so if I can't play a monster, I can just put some of the green or purple ones face down, right?"

"Spells or traps, right," Yami no Yugi said.

Dawn popped up from her seat and ran around the table to look at Mana's hand.

"Oooh, play that one face down, Mana, that one," she said, pointing.

"Hey, Dawn, I don't want to cheat!" Mana said. "No helping me!"

"It's not cheating, this is your first duel! Just play that one, and that one face down, okay?"

"It's probably better if you have someone to help, for the first time, anyway," Yami no Yugi said.

Mana pouted but she played the two cards that Dawn indicated.

"It takes so long to read all the cards," she moaned.

Yami no Yugi drew his next card.

"Okay, I'm going to summon the Celtic Guardian," Yami no Yugi said.

"That one, Mana, that one!" Dawn said, pointing at Mana's face down card.

Mana flipped it over.

"Trap Hole?" she said.

"That'll destroy Celtic Guardian," Dawn said.

A bit miffed, Yami no Yugi put Celtic Guardian in the Graveyard pile.

"Okay, I'll activate my magic card Card Destruction, so we have to discard our hands and draw the same number of cards."

"Oh good," Mana said, looking relieved.

Yami no Yugi laughed softly. This was fun. A duel with absolutely nothing at stake – and no giant holograms for once. That was actually a bit relieving. It felt much more low key. He wondered how Mana would take the sight of the big holographic creatures that he usually dealt with.

"Hmm," he said, looking at his new hand. "I'll play another card face down and end my turn."

Kisara leaned over to see the cards in his hand, mouth slightly open in fascination.

"Oh," she said, staring at one card in particular. Her eyes wandered from that card towards Dawn, and back again.

Yami no Yugi almost looked over to see what she was doing but Mana was starting her turn, and it looked like she had gotten a much better hand this time.

"I summon Magician's Valkyria in attack mode," she said, eyes bright. "Oh, I'm so glad I got to use this one! It's so pretty!"

Yami no Yugi nodded. He didn't have a Valkyria himself, but it was a good card. It really seemed to match the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl actually. Speaking of which...

It was his turn, and he drew a card. He selected one that was already in his hand.

"I'll tribute Gardna to summon Dark Magician Girl from my hand."

Mana's eyes widened.

"Whoa," she said. "That one is _awesome_! Can I see it up close after the duel?"

Yami no Yugi laughed a little.

"Sure," he said.

A thought occurred to him as he heard Kisara shift. He looked down at the card. He glanced up at Kisara, who was glancing between the card and Dawn. Yami no Yugi looked up at Dawn. The girl had positioned herself between Mana and Cadence, leaning her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, humming to herself as she looked at Mana's cards. He looked down at his card again, and up at Dawn.

If he just put little pink circles on her cheeks...

A soft tap at the door distracted him from his train of thought. Without waiting for someone to answer, it popped open, and the red-head from the clinic desk poked her head in. Her ridiculously long orange hair was pulled back into a ponytail today, and she glanced impassively at the group at the table before seeing Darcy in the corner.

"Having an issue. Can you come over?"

"Certainly," Darcy said. "I have to go. Have fun with your game, kids."

"Thank you for the chocolate, Dr. Grey," Dominic said.

"Yes, thank you," Cadence said.

"Thanks!" Mana said.

Darcy smiled and headed through the door. It closed softly, and Yami no Yugi turned back to the game.

What had he been thinking about a moment ago? He couldn't quite remember.

"Okay, that one, Mana," Dawn was saying, pointing to her other face down.

"This one?"

Mana fumbled with her hand, trying to pull a card from it. Dawn glanced up to meet Yami no Yugi's gaze.

Her smile seemed to indicate she knew something that he didn't...

* * *

Hours went by without anyone really noticing. Mana had lost to Yami no Yugi, but she had done fairly well with Dawn's coaching. Dominic had asked to take a shot against Yami no Yugi, and Dawn had lent him her deck. Yugi had switched in silently to take this duel; they had decided privately that they would take turns with the games, since Yugi was itching to play as well. Dominic was absolutely hopeless at the game. He kept forgetting that you couldn't summon level five or higher monsters without a tribute, and eventually dissolved into swearing irritably under his breath every time he drew a bad card.

"You've gotta connect with them, Dom," Mana insisted. "And then you'll get the ones you want."

"They're just pieces of paper," Cadence said dryly.

"Exactly! It's all bloody luck," Dominic said.

"You'll never get it like that, Dom! Believe in the cards!" Mana said, pumping her arms up and down like a cheerleader.

While that went on, Mana lent her deck to Kisara to look through. The girl looked at each card for a very long time, as though trying to divine its meaning – or as though she were looking for a particular one. When Dominic lost (badly) to Yugi (he hadn't really been trying that hard so as not to make Dominic feel bad, but he had still won without much effort), Dawn asked to borrow Mana's deck so that she could teach Kisara, too, lending her own deck to Kisara.

Cadence just huffed when Dawn asked her to play a round.

"It's just a silly game," she had muttered.

"It's much, much more than that," Yami no Yugi said.

The look in her dark eyes almost made him think that she knew that, but was pretending not to. But that was silly. She was probably just being as disagreeable as always.

After a few hours of this, Dominic had to go to help his parents at the flower shop. Dawn and Mana started a duel that Yami no Yugi was glad to settle in to watch. Cadence fidgeted in her seat, looking more irritable than normal as her eyes flicked between the game to Dawn to Yami no Yugi to the game again.

Finally, she stood up and muttered something about a bathroom, and stalked off.

"Geez," Dawn said teasingly. "You shouldn't wait so long, Kay!"

Cadence didn't reply and disappeared down the hall.

Kisara scootched over so that she could see their duel better. For a few moments, everything was quiet.

"...I like this game," Kisara said suddenly. "It feels very nostalgic."

Mana and Dawn glanced up from their hands, and Yami no Yugi looked sidelong at the white-haired girl. She had definitely relaxed. Her shoulders hung loosely, and her hands were merely resting in her lap, not curled into fists.

"Yeah," Mana said, smiling. "I like it too."

Kisara's lips twitched into a small smile. She looked down at the cards.

"You know...?" she said slowly. "I think...I remember one other thing about myself."

"Really?" Dawn said, brightening.

Kisara nodded. Yami no Yugi leaned over to see Kisara's expression. It was a little closed off and guarded, a little nervous, but there was determination there too.

"I...I'm looking for something," she said. "Someone, I think. I think I lost someone, and I'm trying to find them again."

"Oh!" Mana said. "Like, there was someone with you just before you lost your memories?"

Kisara nodded.

"I have to find him," she said, almost thoughtfully. "Yes. Him. I remember it's a him. I'm looking for him."

It sounded like she was testing the words out, seeing how they sounded. Everyone was quiet for a few moments. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. What would it be like to have a little bit of something, the slightest hint of what he had forgotten, like a clue that told him what he needed to be looking for in his mind? What would that be like?

"That must be really hard," Mana said softly. "Knowing that there's someone that you have to remember...and not being able to."

Yami no Yugi opened his eyes. He glanced at Kisara, and saw the drawn pain behind her mask. He felt suddenly guilty for being jealous of her. How much harder would it be to have the memory so close in your grasp and not being able to touch it? Mana had hit it on the nail.

He straightened.

"I'll help you," he said.

Kisara glanced up.

"I'll help you find who you're looking for," Yami no Yugi said. "I'll help you find your memories."

Kisara stared at him, eyes wide.

"Me too!" Mana said, jumping up. "I'll help you look! With all of us working together, we're sure to find the person you're looking for!"

"Count me in," Dawn said.

Kisara looked between all three of them, eyes wide, uncertain. Then, slowly, a huge smile broke across her face, perhaps the first real relief she had felt in the hours that she could remember.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you."

* * *

It was late, and Yami no Yugi was exhausted. Yugi was in control now, and Yami no Yugi was content to float in his semi-darkness.

Kisara was settled in another guest room; there seemed to be several in this house. Mana and Cadence had walked home some hours ago, Mana extracting a promise from Yami no Yugi for them to play Duel Monsters again during lunch break the next day. She was improving really quickly, and it was very exciting for Yami no Yugi. He loved being able to share something he loved with someone new.

Yugi yawned as he stepped out of the bathroom. Then he hesitated when he saw Dawn standing in the hallway. Her hands were clasped behind her back, and she was rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Hi, Yugi," she said.

"Uh, hi," Yugi said.

Yami no Yugi stirred slightly, taking in Dawn. Again, the similarities of her and the Dark Magician girl were startling. She might be a tad shorter, though...it was hard to tell. Still, if he imagined that distinctive hat on her head.

"Um...Dawn..." Yugi said. "You..."

Then suddenly it hit both of them at the same time what she had said.

"_Hi, Yugi."_

"It is Yugi, right now, right?" Dawn said. "I thought, because your eyes are purple again."

Yugi hesitated.

"You..."

"Don't worry! No one else has noticed," Dawn said. "And I won't tell anyone. But there are two of you, right? When we got the confirmation that you were going to be staying with us for the exchange program, the papers said your name was Yugi. But you called yourself Yami. And I saw you switching occasionally. So...right?"

Both soul mates were stunned. Yugi couldn't speak at first.

"You – and you're – you're okay with that?" Yugi said, blinking. "Just like that? You're going to accept that there are two different people in one head?"

Dawn cocked her head.

"There are far less believable things," she said. "Anyway, I didn't think I got to say hello to Yugi properly, so I wanted to say hi to you. I want you both to feel welcome here, see?"

She looked so much like the Dark Magician Girl. She knew that there were two Yugis.

"Dawn...who are you?" Yugi asked, before he could think about it.

Dawn smiled. It was a mysterious sort of smile, especially in the dark hallway.

"I'm Dawn Marisa Grey, of course," she said, bowing. "Good night, Yugi, Yami. Don't worry...your secret is safe with me."

She winked at him. Then she brushed past him into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Yugi was left standing in the dark hallway, both he and Yami no Yugi reeling slightly from what had just happened.

"Dawn...Marisa...Grey..." Yugi said slowly. "D...M...G..."

He looked at the door. He looked up at the dark ceiling.

"_DMG..." _Yami no Yugi repeated. _"DMG."_

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so if you don't know who Dawn is at this point, I can't help you. XD A crocus means "cheerfulness."**


	5. White Carnation of Light and Shadow

Yami no Yugi woke with the sun peeping through the blinds. His pseudo-sleep had been restless, and he felt guilty because he was sure that had affected Yugi's sleep as well. He was groggily coming to as Yami no Yugi sat up, his bare feet brushing against the cold floor. He winced, and regretted the fact that Yugi didn't like to wear socks to bed.

Last night felt a bit hazy to him, but he remembered the basic gist of it.

"_Dawn Marisa Grey..."_ he mused. _"__Is it really possible, partner?"_

"_I don't know,"_ Yugi said. _"__Still...it's very strange. Too much of a coincidence, besides. But why would the Dark Magician Girl be here? And how? This isn't a duel...and we're not in the Shadow Realm..."_

Yami no Yugi nodded. So what was Dawn up to? Was it just a joke?

_Some joke,_ he thought.

Sighing softly, he stood up and moved to get dressed.

He stepped out into the hallway, relieved to be wearing something on his feet. The wooden floors here were _freezing._ He shuffled towards the bathroom.

However, there was already someone in there, staring into the mirror as though it held the secrets of life. Kisara caught a glimpse of Yami no Yugi in the mirror and sucked in a startled breath, flinching visibly. Yami no Yugi held up his hands.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to frighten you..."

She blushed as she turned to face him.

"No, it's...it's fine. I'm sorry for being jumpy..."

Yami no Yugi smiled and shook his head.

"There's no need to apologize for that. How are you?"

"Much better, thank you," Kisara said. "I think the rest did me a lot of good."

She was certainly much more talkative this morning. Her stance was relaxed as well, and she wasn't trying to hide behind her hair anymore. She seemed to have eased into her surroundings.

"That's good," Yami no Yugi said. "I'm glad."

Kisara smiled slightly. She glanced over her shoulder into the mirror again. Then she ducked her head and scurried past Yami no Yugi, going back into the guest room she was using.

After Yami no Yugi had finished washing up, he headed down to the kitchen. He hesitated at the sight of Dawn at the table, remembering the event of last night. She was, however, completely sprawled across the table with her face pressed into the wood, and merely groaned in response to his good morning.

Was this girl really the Dark Magician Girl? It was hard to correlate the self-assured, mysterious girl of last night with the groggy girl of this morning. Perhaps it _was_ a joke.

Yami no Yugi tried to keep his mind off of it. He tried not to think about the fact that if the Dark Magician Girl was really here, then it probably meant that there was something wrong and he was going to have to try and save the world again. He didn't want to think about that. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation.

"Good morning," Darcy said. "Hungry?"

The man pushed a plate of food towards Yami no Yugi as he sat down.

"Thank you," Yami no Yugi said.

Darcy smiled and nodded at him. Yami no Yugi was hit with such a wave of deja vu at the man's expression that he felt dizzy. But then Darcy was turning back to the stove to portion more scrambled eggs onto another plate, and the feeling was gone. Yami no Yugi sunk back into the Puzzle while Yugi took over and started in on the breakfast. Eating was a very strange thing for the pair of spirits. Neither of them felt hungry unless they were in control, yet they still felt like they were tasting the food while the other one was eating.

Yami no Yugi was distracted from his thoughts when Kisara arrived. She mumbled out a thank you to Darcy when he handed her a heaping plate of food, but her demureness dropped pretty quickly and she tore into her meal. She finished even before Yugi, and then hopped up to try and help Darcy with the dishes.

"No, no, no," Darcy said. "You're a guest here. And you still need to rest yourself. Doctor's orders."

He gently pushed her back into her seat. She looked a bit miffed.

"But I want to help out," she said. "You're all being so kind to me..."

"Don't worry about it," Darcy said. "I'll be glad to let you help around the house once I'm certain you're not going to overexert yourself. For now, though, I need you to keep yourself healthy. All right?"

The hospital tone chimed through the house, and Darcy frowned. He dried his hands off on his apron and started towards the door, hanging up the apron and putting his hair into a ponytail again.

"I have to go, Dawn, can you...?"

He glanced at the girl who was still pretty much dead to the world, and sighed. Yugi jumped up, having finished his breakfast.

"I'll finish the dishes, Darcy-san," he said.

Darcy smiled thankfully and disappeared into the hospital. Dawn had finally woken up enough to start eating, although she left her head laying on the table and just pushed food into her mouth with her fork.

After a few minutes, Kisara padded silently over and started to dry the dishes for Yugi.

"Darcy-san said..."

"This isn't going to overexert me," she said stubbornly. "I want to help."

Yugi shrugged helplessly. Yami no Yugi smiled from the back of Yugi's mind. Now that she was rested and all, Kisara was more than just stubborn. It was nice to see her so active, in Yami no Yugi's opinion.

"The Greys have been kind enough to take me in when I don't know where else to go. I have to try and make it up to them," Kisara said.

"Mmmmf," Dawn mumbled.

"What was that?" Yugi asked over his shoulder.

"I said," Dawn said. "That you don't have to worry about it, Kisara."

Kisara frowned, indicating that she _did_ worry about it. She paused in the middle of a dish, looking thoughtful.

"Maybe...maybe I should try and find a part time job," she said, as though thinking aloud.

"Dad will say no," Dawn mumbled.

"Maybe that is a little bit too much," Yugi said.

Kisara sighed.

"I know, I know, I should be resting, but...but I just...I don't want to sit around here all day...I need to find _something_ to do, or else..."

She bit her lip and didn't finish.

Yami no Yugi, however, knew exactly what she meant.

"_She doesn't want to be left alone with her thoughts,"_ he told Yugi. _"__She can't remember anything...it's horrible to not have anything to distract you from that. She doesn't want to think about how she can't figure out where she came from."_

Yami no Yugi felt the pang of Yugi's heart – both for Kisara, and for Yami no Yugi himself. Yami no Yugi withdrew a bit, embarrassed. He didn't want to worry Yugi; he had been a little too forward about that, perhaps.

"Well, maybe not a job, but maybe Dominic and Mana know something that you can go do in town while we're at school," Yugi said. "We should ask them."

Kisara brightened a bit.

"I would like that," she said. "I like them."

Yugi smiled and finished off the dishes. Dawn groaned something that no one could hear again before she stumbled off to finish getting ready.

"Has anyone ever told you that your name doesn't fit you?" Yugi teased her.

Dawn groaned at him and disappeared down the hall.

Yugi giggled to himself. But then he remember last night, and his brain started to turn again.

"_Who is she really, other me?"_ he asked.

Yami no Yugi sighed.

"_I wish I knew, partner."_

**. . .**

Easily one of Yugi's most awkward classes was the art class. He wasn't an artist by any means, and paintbrushes confused him. The best he could come up with in drawing was a few vaguely defined stick figures.

He did, however, share the class with Mana, who seemed just as hopeless at art but less concerned with the fact. She had a big paint mark on her nose and a huge grin as Yugi slid into the seat across from her and switched places with Yami.

"You've got something on your nose," Yami no Yugi said, grinning.

Mana didn't stop grinning and tried to wipe it with the back of her hair, only succeeding in making it bigger.

"What are you working on?" he asked, leaning over.

"Abstract art!" she said proudly.

She held up her canvas, which was just a collection of paint splatters in the boldest colors she had been able to find. It looks so cheerful and bouncy, just like Mana, that Yami no Yugi had to grin.

"It's nice," he said. "Very colorful."

"I know! I love colors!"

She set the canvas down and started to flick more paint onto it. Yami no Yugi smiled and looked at his own attempt at an abstract composition, which he had started the day before. It was less colorful and more brown – apparently he should have waited for the layers to dry before he added more paint on top. Grimacing at the ugly color, he reached for some red and blue, hoping to fix it.

"So how's Kisara? I didn't get a chance to ask at lunch," Mana said.

"She's doing much better," Yami no Yugi said. "But I think she's getting a little anxious to do something."

"Oh, I would be the same way!" Mana said. "I hate sitting around for a long time!"

As if to prove her point, she stood up from her chair and started to shift back and forth as she added more paint splatters.

Yami no Yugi narrowly dodged being hit in the face with a glob of blue.

"So, what do you think about England now?" Mana said. "I mean, it's been like three days, right? Do you like it more or less?"

"I think I like it more every day," Yami no Yugi said. "Risgate is a very peaceful place. A little too cold, though."

Mana giggled.

"I think so too," she said. "I grew up in Syria. _Syria_. It's sooo hot down there."

"I would imagine," Yami no Yugi said. "How did you come here, anyway?"

"Oh! See, my grandma had an old pen pal from here that she was still in contact with, and the pen pal sent her a scholarship application for me – it's kinda like the one that you won – and I got to come up here for a whole semester."

She stuck her tongue out in concentration, adding some smaller details to her paint collage.

"While I was here, though, my grandma died. She was...all I had back in Syria."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Yami no Yugi said.

He meant it, too – he couldn't imagine Yugi's grandfather disappearing. Even though Sugoroku wasn't technically Yami no Yugi's grandfather, and didn't even technically know that Yami no Yugi existed, Yami no Yugi had an intense fondness for the old man, and wasn't sure what he would do if he lost him.

"It's okay...she was really old, and really happy for me," Mana said. "But I didn't have a place to go back to in Syria, so...so my foster family, the Bennets, they applied to adopt me officially, and it went through. So I've been in England ever since."

She hesitated in the middle of her painting, staring down at it – but obviously seeing something else entirely.

"Do you...miss it? Syria, I mean," Yami no Yugi said.

Mana ducked her head slightly.

"...Yeah. Sometimes."

She shook her head.

"I mean, I'm really happy here! It's really nice, and all my friends are here, but...yeah. I miss it a lot."

Yami no Yugi looked down at his disaster of a painting.

"Tell me about it," he said.

"Huh?"

"Will you tell me about Syria? What was it like?"

Mana paused for a moment. There was only the sound of the paintbrush against the canvas for a long breath.

"It...it was much warmer," Mana said. She laughed slightly. "Oh, that's a stupid way to start, of course it was much warmer. But it was really, really pretty. A lot of people have told me that the desert isn't pretty. It's all dead and barren...but I don't think so at all. It's like...nothing really compares to the way that the sun glitters across sand, you know? Like molten gold. Sure, it was dusty and hot, but it was beautiful."

Yami no Yugi nodded slowly.

"Yes...yes, I could imagine that."

And he could: vividly, it seemed. He had only seen photographs of places like Egypt and Syria, but the picture in his mind was so much more vivid than any photo. He could see the sands spreading out from him, melting into the blue sky above, the sun turning the sand into shifting mounds of dusty gold.

"And when you were by the river, you wouldn't _believe_ how lush and beautiful it was. The water sparkled, and the river grasses were such a deep green. Some days I'd go down to the water hoping to see a hippo or a crocodile. I never did, though."

Yami no Yugi half smiled to himself.

"What if they had come out and eaten you?" he teased.

"Well, it's not gonna happen now, is it?" Mana said, giggling. "There aren't a whole lot of crocodiles in England."

Yami no Yugi laughed softly.

"I miss the lotuses the most, though," Mana said. "There are water lilies here, of course, in the gardens and ponds and stuff but...but I feel like the ones back home were brighter. Bigger...prettier. I don't know. But they were so big and bright and pretty, and there was...I dunno, some kind of hopefulness about them. I can't explain it."

He could see those, too, in the back of his mind. Big white blossoms, floating along a lazy river, bobbing up and down on the silvery water.

But even as he could see the image, bright and clear in his mind, a frown came to his face. Something felt a little bit off.

"_Other me..."_ Yugi said quietly. _"__I...I don't think there are crocodiles or hippos in Syria. I don't think they have a lot of vegetation at all, actually...not even by a river."_

Yami no Yugi had just been thinking the same thing. He glanced up at Mana, but she was focused on her painting again. She seemed to have lost her train of thought, her eyes not really looking at her work, either.

"_Other me, if I had to guess...that sounded more like she was describing Egypt."_

"_But she says she came from Syria."_

"_I know...but...something about it just doesn't add up."_

Both of them were quiet for a moment. Yami no Yugi dropped his eyes from Mana before she realized he was staring at her.

He could still see the lotuses in the back of his mind.

**. . .**

Kisara was sitting out on the Greys' porch when Yami no Yugi and the others approached. She didn't appear to be doing much of anything, just sitting and thinking. She brightened when she caught sight of the group, though, and jumped up from the bench.

"Hello, Kisara!" Mana said. "How are you?"

"Much better, thank you," Kisara said. "How was school for everyone?"

"It was a lot of fun, like always!" Mana said.

"You're so bloody cheerful," Dominic groaned. "How is school _fun_?"

"You're just mad because you forgot to write your paper that's due tomorrow," Dawn said, pushing him with her elbow. "And now you have to try and scramble to finish it tonight."

"I work best under pressure," Dominic said, puffing out his chest as though this were some kind of achievement.

They made their way towards the Cherry Bites cafe. Kisara hadn't been here before, and her eyes sparkled at the brightly painted surfaces.

"You've never had a hot chocolate?" Mana exclaimed when Kisara said she didn't even know what that was.

"Maybe, but I...I can't really remember..." Kisara said.

"Then we have to get you one! They're soooo good!"

"You're gonna need a better coat, too," Dawn said, picking at Kisara's shoulder. The platinum-haired girl was currently wearing an old coat of Dawn's, which was a faded brown and unraveling a bit at the edges. "We should stop by the store before club."

Kisara tried to protest, but Dawn simply ignored her until the girl's voice dropped to a soft mutter.

"What do you mean, 'club?'" Yami no Yugi asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you about it!" Mana said.

She clapped her hands excitedly.

"Dawn, Kay, Dom, and I are all in a dance club at the community center," she said. "It's a lot of fun – you should come along?"

"I...I don't know much about dancing," Yami no Yugi said.

"That's all right, I'm really bad at it too," Mana said. "Cadence is amazing, though, right Cadence? Dom's not bad either!"

"When Dawn doesn't trip me," Dominic said.

"That was _one_ time," Dawn said.

"I don't know, maybe Yami isn't interested," Cadence said. "You shouldn't force him, Mana."

The way she said it made Yami tense up. It was like she was _trying_ to make sure he didn't come – and the look in her eyes when she caught his gaze said that she dared him to say something about it.

Well, he wasn't one to turn down a dare.

"Well, I'll at least come to watch," he said. "I don't know about dancing, though."

"Yippee!" Mana said. "What about you, Kisara?"

"It sounds like fun," Kisara said. "I'll come along."

"Awesome!" Dawn said.

Dominic grinned goofily. Cadence shot Yami no Yugi a cold glare, and Yami no Yugi returned it with an equal coolness.

"Oh, right," Dawn said quickly. It was almost as though she were trying to draw attention away from Cadence and Yami's staring match. "Kisara, you wanted to know something that you could do while we're at school, right?"

"Oh, right," Kisara said. "Well, I took a short walk around the square today, but nobody seems to be hiring..."

"Gah, Kisara, I said you don't have to get a job," Dawn said.

"You're looking for a job, Kisara?" Dominic said.

"No, she's not," Dawn said. "Dad says she has to rest up a bit more."

"Well, my parents are always saying they want more help at the flower shop," Dominic said. "It's probably the _least _stressful job in the world. Just watering the flowers and such – and arranging sometimes, and the cash register. D'you like flowers, Kisara?"

Kisara had brightened at Dominic's words, and she nodded.

"I love flowers," she said. "Are you sure that's something I could do?"

"Sure, why not? I'll talk to my parents tonight and we'll see about getting you to come in tomorrow," Dominic said. "They aren't officially hiring, but the way they complain about not having help during the day, well, they certainly need someone."

Kisara's small smile was bright enough to light the whole room, and she sipped at her hot chocolate happily. Cadence was the only one that looked unhappy about the turn of events, or perhaps about the change in conversation. She had looked like she wanted to push Yami and Kisara to not attend the dance club before Dawn had drawn the attention away, and now her lips were tight and her gaze was cold – she looked like she was going to explode.

"So club starts in a forty five minutes, so we should –" Dawn started. "Oops!"

She bumped the table as she stood up and the remains of her hot chocolate fell into Cadence's lap. Cadence gasped and swore softly at the still warm liquid.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Kay! Come here, I'll help you wash it off in the bathroom," Dawn said, grabbing Cadence's arm. "I'm so sorry!"

Cadence tried to protest, but Dawn was insistent, and practically dragged her from the table.

"Mana, everybody, why don't you go to the shop across the square and get Kisara a coat?" Dawn said. "We'll catch up."

She pushed a few bills into Kisara's protesting hand and then Dawn pulled the reluctant Cadence off to the bathroom.

Yami no Yugi watched them go, thinking that something didn't feel quite right. The rest of the group, though, didn't seem too perturbed.

"Dawn and Kay are at it again, huh?" Dominic said with a grin. "Those two are always at each other's necks."

"Really?" Yami no Yugi said.

"Oh, for sure. They don't really see eye to eye on anything, do they? Remember when they did that debate in history class?"

"Oh, gosh," Mana said, rolling her eyes. "It was _horrible._ I don't even remember what they were debating, do you? But they were shouting at each other by the end."

"Cadence doesn't seem like the shouting type," Kisara said, frowning.

Yami no Yugi privately agreed – she was too withdrawn for that.

"Only Dawn seems to be able to get under her skin like that," Mana said. "But they _are _friends. They just have a funny way of showing it."

Dominic muttered something that sounded like "might be more than friends sooner rather than later."

She shook her head and smiled slightly. Then she finished off her hot chocolate and stood up.

"Okay! Let's see about getting you a coat, Kisara! And then we'll go to the club!"

Yami no Yugi finished his own drink, and the four headed for the door. Still, Yami no Yugi's eyes wandered to the bathroom where Dawn and Cadence had gone and started to wonder.

_If Dawn really is the Dark Magician Girl, then why is she such enemies with Cadence?_

**. . .**

Despite all of Kisara's protesting, she looked incredibly happy with her new long, dark blue coat. She kept rubbing her hands inside the giant pockets, snuggling her face into her collar.

"You look great, Kisara," Dawn said, hugging her. "Now aren't you glad that I made you buy it?"

Kisara mumbled something about paying her back later, to which Dawn tickled her and said there would be no such repayment – it was a present.

Yami no Yugi smiled, feeling more relaxed. Whatever Dawn had said to Cadence, she seemed to be ignoring him now rather than actively antagonizing him. It was as though she were resigned to the idea of him coming along to the dance club, and walked stiffly ahead of him without looking back. Dawn was skipping along beside Kisara, sneakily scooping up balls of snow and tossing them over everyone's heads in order to hit Dominic in the head. He retaliated, and Kisara ducked with a squeak as the pair of them starting chasing each other across the sidewalk with bigger and bigger piles of snow in their arms.

It was almost full dark already, even though it was barely five in the afternoon. It had started to snow lightly again – was it possible for there to be so much snow in one place? He could see vast fields of it between the houses, glowing slightly silver in the setting sun. It actually looked like...

"Look," Mana whispered to him, pointing. "It's a silver desert!"

Yami no Yugi smiled. He had just been thinking the same thing.

"It's the literal polar opposite of the desert," he said. "Like the sun versus the moon. Gold versus silver."

Mana shivered a bit against the cold, but she was smiling.

"It is beautiful," she said. "Even if it's not warm."

"Yeah."

Their breath mixed together in the air. It took Yami no Yugi a moment to realize just how close she was walking next to him, and the fact that they were the only two at the back of the group, with the other four still in a group in front. It sort of felt like they were alone together. And surprisingly, it didn't feel awkward – not the silence or the closeness, or the cold, or the vast fields of silver snow that looked like dunes of sand.

"It's quiet," he said.

"Uh-huh," she said.

He could almost feel her heat from the closeness of her frame. She was almost taller than him, but not quite. It felt...right, to be walking next to her. He sighed softly into his scarf. The cold didn't bother him so much tonight.

"Oh, we're here!" Mana said, pointing out the community center. "Thank goodness! I was going to freeze and lose all my fingers!"

Yami no Yugi laughed.

"Should have worn better gloves," he said.

"It doesn't matter, my fingers are always cold in the winter," Mana moaned.

The community center was a rather large building, with big glass doors that glowed yellow from the light inside. It was rather utilitarian, obviously of newer make than the shops in the square, and heat rushed into their faces as the group pushed inside.

The light was almost blinding after the darkness outside. He could hear the vague beats of music from a side room full of people doing some kind of workout routine. There was a large desk at the other side of the lobby, with doors on the left side leading into an exercise room and a hallway leading off to the right. A woman sat there, working on something on the computer. She paused only to glance up at the kids, nod, and then fix her glasses and push some of her short black hair behind her ears.

"That's Helena Fawn; she knows us cause we come in a lot," Mana said, waving at the woman as they passed. The woman did not respond to the gesture, but perhaps she hadn't seen it. Mana giggled. "She's kinda rough around the edges. Doesn't like kids too much but tries to hide it."

Yami no Yugi smiled slightly.

They headed down the hallway and passed several rooms before Dawn pushed through one on the left side of the hall. Inside was fair sized studio room with one wall completely covered in mirrors. There was already a small group of people inside, mostly girls. Some of them were leaning on the side railings used for ballet practice.

One of the group flounced over.

"Hello, hello, hello!" she said. "Mana, Cadence, Dominic, Dawn, nice to see all of you!"

"Hi Miss Thomas!" Dawn said. "We brought some friends along, is that okay?"

The little woman smiled brightly and nodded. Judging by Dawn's greeting, this was the instructor, although she didn't look old enough to be. She was barely taller than Yugi, with a round, cherubic face, large gray eyes, and her bright pink hair cut to shoulder length so that it bounced around her face childishly. Everything about her stature was petite, and she was dressed in a short, flouncy blue tutu, large golden teardrop earrings glittering from her earlobes. She had on a pair of giant glasses, so large that they almost took up fifty percent of her face, and she pushed them up excitedly when she caught sight of Yami no Yugi.

"Oh goodness!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Finally another boy! Do you know, we haven't had an equal number in sooo long! Oh, well, we're still one male short, but that's all right, that's all right, we've never been closer to having the right number. Thank you for coming!"

She grabbed both of Yami no Yugi's hands and shook them exuberantly.

"Uh, actually, I'm just here to –" Yami no Yugi started, but she obviously wasn't listening.

"Okay, okay, time to get started everyone! I'm going to pair you up – what was your name again, dear?"

This last comment was directed towards Yami no Yugi, but he was so flustered that Dawn jumped into answer for him.

"This is Yami Mutou, he's an exchange student from Japan," Dawn said. "Yami, this is our instructor, Cecelia Thomas."

"Yami, pleased to meet you! Why don't you go over her with – Mana, yes, Mana, you two are about the same height that's perfect! You go over here, just stand there, that's a good lad, and Dominic could you take Angelica, please, Dawn with Jonathan, and oh, you, young lady, what's your name? Kisara, all right Kisara, why don't you go ahead with Cadence there, we're still one young man short but Cadence is quite good at doing either part of the dance and she'll help you along there – oh, don't any of you have boyfriends you could bring along? Just one more is all I need...all right, all right, I'm going to start the music, and could the old hands show the new ones the basic steps, please? I'll be around to help out and fix things."

She talked and moved so quickly that before Yami no Yugi knew what was happening he was being pushed towards Mana and Cecelia was arranging him in the right position before flouncing off to help Kisara with Cadence.

"Um..." Yami no Yugi started.

Mana giggled.

"Probably should have warned you about her," she said. "She's pretty energetic."

"I suppose I could agree with that," he said with a small laugh. "Although...I have no idea how to do any of this."

"You take my hand, here, like this, and your other one comes down right here at my waist, okay? And my hand is on your shoulder, like this."

She moved his hands into the right positions. He felt a little awkward about being in such close contact, but Mana didn't seem perturbed, so he tried to relax.

"You're the guy, so you technically have to lead," she said. "Which just means that you're going to step forward, and I step back, so just follow me, okay?"

"All right," he said, feeling suddenly nervous down to the pit of his stomach. He had never felt so out of place, so odd. Not even a duel had made him feel this on edge.

Yugi was laughing at the back of his head.

"_Shut up,"_ he muttered. _"__How about I make you switch out with me and we'll see how you like it."_

Yugi just giggled again and withdrew far enough into the back of Yami no Yugi's mind that nothing short of Yami no Yugi going unconscious would be able to draw him back out. Yami no Yugi sighed, and then Cecelia was punching the radio button and classical music was filling the studio room.

Mana pulled him along as he tripped over the steps. How could anyone think all this spinning was fun? She giggled at him.

"You're so stiff!" she said. "Relax!"

"Trying," Yami no Yugi said. "But I don't know how this works."

"Just follow me, see? One, two, three, one, two, three, come on, it's easy!"

Easy was not the word for it. Yami no Yugi knew how cards and strategy worked, but he had absolutely no idea what direction he needed to put his feet. Mana laughed again as he tripped and nearly dragged her over. In the background, Cecelia was clapping the beat out as she flitted around, fixing someone's positioning or pausing a pair to demonstrate what they needed to fix.

Over Mana's shoulder, he could see Dominic was doing incredibly well with his partner. Dawn was a little bouncier than the other groups, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Despite this being her first time, Kisara glided along elegantly with Cadence leading. Yami no Yugi found himself blushing slightly – he was horrible at this. How did his body even function?

"It's okay, everybody messes up the first time," Mana said, although she was trying not to giggle at him. "My first time, I stepped on my partner's shoe and went flying into Cadence, and we made a domino pile of about five people in the middle of the room. At least you're not at that point!"

"I might be in a minute," Yami no Yugi muttered as he accidentally trod on Mana's toe for the second time.

She didn't even flinch, and her smile didn't falter.

"But this is fun, isn't it?" she said. "You have to relax, silly."

He didn't want to relax. He had to focus so that he wouldn't step on Mana's feet anymore, or so he wouldn't trip and repeat Mana's domino trick.

But her cheer was rather infectious, and after a few moments, he realized that by focusing too hard on his motions, he was actually having more trouble. He tried his hardest to relax his shoulders.

The music flooded around them, Cecelia's clapping of the rhythm becoming little more than white noise. Mana grinned at him.

"Now you're getting it," she said, delighted.

Yami no Yugi half-smiled. But she was right. By not focusing as hard, he found that it was a little bit easier. Maybe this was fun after all. Mana seemed to be excited. And that made him want to smile too. Her hand was warm in his, and he didn't feel quite so awkward being this close to her anymore. It almost felt normal.

Like they had done this before.

He was surprised when Mana started to slow down.

_Oh,_ he thought. _The music's over._

They came to a stop.

"You did really great!" Mana said.

"You're a good teacher, I guess," Yami no Yugi said.

It took him half a second to realize that he and Mana were still standing in the dancing position, while the other pairs had started to break apart. He could feel her pulse against the hand that rested against her waist. Quickly he dropped his hand from her. She smiled broadly at him, bouncing on her heels – she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Yami no Yugi felt like his face was growing warm, though, and he didn't think it was from exertion.

He had liked that, he thought. He had liked that a lot.

"Okay, take a quick break while I try to figure out what's wrong with the radio," Cecelia called across the room. "Then find a new partner, okay? We'll going to work on the one we learned last week."

There were a few groans when she said to find a new partner, mostly from pairs that appeared to still be holding hands. Yami no Yugi was just glad for the breather. Mana bounced off to talk to Dawn, and Yami no Yugi leaned against the ballet railing. After a beat, Dominic joined him.

"Whoo!" he said. "That was a good warm up, eh? How'd you like your first dance, then?"

"It was...interesting."

"You didn't do half bad. Mana was having fun."

Yami no Yugi smiled, eyes lingering on Mana's excited smile as she talked to Dawn.

"I'm glad," he said. "Although I think I trod on her toes more than a few times."

Dominic guffawed, but hid it behind one hand.

"Good, good, she did that to me way too many times her first time here; finally she gets pay back."

The auburn haired boy gave Yami no Yugi a sidelong glance.

"Hey," he said. "You enjoying yourself, then?"

"I guess."

Dominic grinned.

"Then how about that, huh?"

He tapped the wall behind him. Curious, Yami no Yugi followed his finger. Dominic was pointing at a power taped to the wall: it was a plain thing, just white with some black snowflake designs on the edges. In curvy letters, it said _Winter Ball, December 7__th__._ There was more information about prices and times. The location was the school, apparently.

"What about it?" Yami no Yugi said.

"Well, you should come along with all of us, right?" Dominic said. "We've been going every year. Sometimes a bit awkward because there's only the three of us; we're uneven and stuff. You should come."

"I don't know..."

Cecelia smacked the radio in the back one more time, and music started to play from it. She hastily paused it.

"Okay, new partners, let's go, we're practicing last week's dance," she called, hands cupped around her mouth.

"Good luck," Dominic said, pushing off the railing to go grab Dawn.

Yami no Yugi hesitated. He didn't really know anyone else here – Dominic had just paired off with Dawn, Kisara had ended up with a young man Yami no Yugi didn't recognize, and so help him if he was forced to dance with Cadence. Maybe he could secretly fade into the background without anyone noticing that he wasn't dancing.

A girl sidled up to him. She was of a short, thin frame, no taller than himself, with thick, wavy red hair, a fair freckled face, and hazel eyes. He recognized her as one of the girls he had seen in the lunch room the other day. What had Dominic called them? A pack of wolves, or something.

"Hey, do you need a partner?" she asked.

She said it in a tone that reminded Yami no Yugi of Kujaku Mai. She was even flicking her bangs in that same sort of way as the blonde woman. Yami no Yugi felt a little guarded – he didn't really know what the girl was up to, but Mai only did stuff like that when she was trying to throw you off guard.

"_Stupid, other me,"_ Yugi giggled at him. _"__She's just flirting with you. This isn't a duel, silly."_

"_She's...what?"_

Yami no Yugi blushed slightly.

"I, uh, I'm sorry, I don't..."

He didn't know how to deal with this – how on earth did one talk to girls like this anyway? Flirting? Even with Yugi's memories he wasn't quite understanding of the topic. He couldn't seem to recall any time in Yugi's life in which a girl had acted this way towards him – besides, of course, Mai, who usually was just doing it to make the opponent lower their guard.

"Oh, you don't have to be shy," she said. She giggled, one hand in held in front of her mouth as though she were trying to hide it. "I'm pretty good so –"

"Yami!" Mana said, bouncing over. "Miss Thomas said you can stay with me because you're new! Oh, hi, how are you?"

She was addressing the other girl with her last sentence. The girl's face fell, and she even looked a tad angry as she wandered back onto the floor. Yami no Yugi let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," Mana said.

Then she almost laughed, but pressed her lips together so that it only came out as a snort.

"What? What's so funny?" Yami no Yugi asked.

"Your face was priceless," Mana giggled. "You looked sooo awkward. It was kind of cute – what, you've never talked to a girl before?"

"I'm talking to one now, aren't I?" Yami no Yugi said.

Mana giggled again, and in spite of Yami no Yugi's embarrassment, he smiled too.

"Anyway, Miss Thomas didn't actually say that, but you looked like you needed to be rescued," Mana said. "Don't worry about it, though, she never notices when we don't switch partners."

"Thank you double, then," Yami no Yugi said. "I'm nearly positive I would have broken that poor girl's toes."

"My toes aren't good enough to be saved?" Mana said, fake pouting.

"Obviously, you're able to handle it judging by the last dance," Yami no Yugi said.

"Point taken."

Mana laughed again, then she grabbed his hand as the music started to play.

"Come on! Let's go!"

With more laughter bubbling in his chest, he let her pull him onto the floor and move his hands into the right position. It didn't feel too awkward, this time. In fact, he was looking forward to it. He was in such a good mood that it was easy to ignore Cadence's cold stare over her partner's shoulder. The music began, and Mana started to lead Yami no Yugi through the steps again.

"Follow me, this way, oops! No that was my bad, just slow down a bit, good, good, you're getting it!"

Yami no Yugi's heart rose and fell with the music. Mana felt warm under his touch. This was comfortable – almost familiar somehow. He didn't dislike the feeling. Mana looked up at him with her dark green eyes. She smiled broadly.

His heart felt so full that he didn't realize what he was saying until he said it.

"Mana, do you want to go to that Winter Ball with me?"

Mana's eyes widened. For a moment her smile slipped with surprise. Then it returned larger than ever.

"Yes!" she said. "Yes, I do!"

**. . .**

**A/N: How's that for fluff, hm? :D Next chapter will have some more fluff, but a bit more ominous stuff, too. All of you seem to be wracking your brains about the characters, so let me give you a hint: of all the named characters thus far, three are OCs. A White Carnation means ****_sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love._**


	6. Midnight Viscaria

Cold. He was so, so, so cold. Why was it so cold? Uugh.

Someone was shouting – or were they? It was hard to tell. It sounded muffled. Far away. It was so_ cold..._

Yami no Yugi stirred out of his sleep. It felt like he was struggling out of thick molasses. For a few moments, he couldn't connect with Yugi's senses, and for a terrifying second he was completely lost in the darkness without any sound or sight.

Then it all flooded into consciousness and relief washed over him. A soft, gentle morning light was coming in through the sheer curtains. Yugi wasn't wearing socks or slippers, and while Yugi didn't seem to care it was somewhat uncomfortable to Yami no Yugi even though he wasn't in control right now. The young boy was chattering away to the faces on his computers screen – oh, Anzu and everyone was up.

"_Good morning, partner...how long have you been awake?"_

"Oh!" Yugi said. "Just a sec, other me is up."

Yugi's voice echoed back to him.

"_It's only been about an hour or so. Don't worry, it's Saturday, you can sleep!"_

Saturday. Right. It had been a day since the ballroom dance club, and today was the day of the dance itself.

For some reason the coldness of his dreams felt like it was lingering, although he didn't technically have a sense of touch while Yugi was in control. His incorporeal body shuddered slightly. No, he did not feel like sleeping right now.

"How is the other Yugi doing?" Anzu asked, her voice a bit grainy coming through the screen.

"Yeah, buddy, how're you liking that cold winter, huh?" Jonouchi said, grinning. "I'll have you know that it's still pretty balmy up here, you jealous?"

"Oh shut up, Jonouchi, it's been just as cold here as it is there," Honda said. "We just didn't get the snow to go with it."

"Yeah well snow's a pain in the ass to get rid of, so I ain't complain'!"

"Can you boys stop bantering for five seconds so we can hear Yugi talk?" Anzu said. "Geez!"

Ryo was there too in his own screen, but he just chuckled softly at the flinch that crossed Honda and Jonouchi's faces at her outburst.

"We're both doing great," Yugi said. "Everyone here is so friendly. I can't wait for all of you to meet them."

Yami no Yugi smiled. Yes, it would be nice when the rest of the normal crew showed up for Christmas. The peace here was nice, but it wasn't quite the same without his friends.

"Well, you make friends without trying, Yugi-kun," Ryo said, smiling.

"Actually, other me's been doing most of the talking lately," Yugi said.

"_Oh, don't tell them that, partner..."_

"_Why not? I'm glad that you're making friends on your own!"_

"Really? D'they know about, y'know, there being two of you?" Jonouchi asked.

Yugi hesitated for just the space of a breath. Yami no Yugi knew instantly that he was thinking of Dawn. How much should they say? 'Oh, right, the Dark Magician Girl is here somehow. It probably doesn't mean anything.' Right, like they would believe that. They'd instantly assume that there was something about to destroy the world. Not that that wasn't a possibility, but for now, Yami no Yugi privately didn't think that was the case here. If Dawn truly was the Dark Magician Girl, she was here for different reasons – reasons that Yami no Yugi wanted to tease out eventually, but were not important right now. There was no point in worrying their friends.

"I don't think so," Yugi said. "I mean, it took you guys a while to notice. We haven't been here for very long, and there hasn't really been any major crazy things happening that would make that stick out, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess," Jonouchi said. "Just...yeah. Sometimes it's hard for me to get my head around, ya know? I just kinda wonder what other people would think."

"Well, if they're really friends, then they won't mind," Anzu said, matter-of-factly. "Everyone sounds really wonderful, Yugi. I really can't wait to come up and meet them."

"You'll all get along really well," Yugi said. "I promise."

Yami no Yugi surfaced for a brief moment.

"In the mean time, Jonouchi, Honda, you should probably work on your English," he said, with a mischievous smile. "It was pretty bad the last time I heard it."

"Aw, geez, Yug, why ya gotta remind me of that?" Jonouchi said. "Don't worry, don't worry, Honda'n I are practicing by watching a buncha English movies."

"Terrible English movies," Honda muttered.

"I heard that!"

"Don't worry, Bakura-kun and I will get them sorted out," Anzu said, winking.

Ryo sighed.

"Yes, if they stop skipping out on tutoring sessions."

"I – I was busy!" Jonouchi said.

"More like, scared to show how bad you are at English," Anzu teased.

"Aw, shut it, Anzu, we can't all be the class representative!"

Yugi giggled. Yami no Yugi cracked a small smile back in his soul room – he really did miss hearing his friends' usual banter.

"Well, I'm going to have to head to work," Anzu said. "I'll talk to you later, Yugi!"

"Sure thing!"

"I believe Jonouchi and Honda have a paper due tomorrow, so they should probably get going too," Ryo said dryly.

"Aw, come on, Bakura, I was trying to forget about that!" Jonouchi said.

"How did you even know that we hadn't done it yet?" Honda said.

"Intuition. See you around, Yugi."

"See you, Bakura-kun."

"All right, talk to ya later, Yug!" Jonouchi said.

"See you, Yugi," Honda said.

"Good luck with your papers," Yugi grinned.

Both boys groaned, and logged off. Ryo's screen also went blank. Anzu hesitated for a brief moment. Then she flashed a smile, and logged off herself. Yugi shut the computer off. He leaned back in his chair.

"Huh," he said. "So, what should we do today? The dance isn't until seven. It's only ten."

The dance. He had been avoiding thinking about it without really realizing it, but suddenly it came back to him and he felt a curious twisty feeling in his stomach.

"Are you nervous?" Yugi teased.

"_What would I be nervous about?"_

"You asked Mana to a dance! That's something to be nervous about!"

"_We're just going to a dance."_

"Other me, that's what people do on dates, you know."

"_...I...I don't know much about things like that. We're friends, Yugi."_

"Friends that really, really like dancing together."

"_...you know, I don't tease you about Anzu."_

Yugi flushed slightly, but didn't drop his grin.

"You're just annoyed cause I know what you're thinking," he said, popping up from his chair. "Huh, I wonder what everyone here does on the weekends?"

There was a soft tap on the door. Yugi hesitated.

"Yes?"

"It's Dawn, can I come in?"

"Oh, sure!"

The door creaked open partway, and Dawn peeked in.

"Ummmm," she said. "Cadence is outside. She says she wants to talk to you..."

Dawn didn't look happy about the idea. Yami no Yugi didn't _feel_ happy about the idea. What did Cadence want now? She had studiously ignored Yami no Yugi all of yesterday, not even a glare. She had looked almost furious when Mana had mentioned that he was going to the dance with her, but hadn't even looked in Yami no Yugi's direction. What did she want now?

Yami no Yugi switched into control.

"What does she want?"

"I dunno," Dawn said. "But...sorry, red-eyed Yugi, I think she wants to talk to purple-eyed Yugi."

Yami no Yugi hesitated for a moment. A dozen questions flooded through his mind and he wasn't sure which to voice first.

"...how does she know?"

Dawn bit her lip.

"...I really think you should just go talk to her."

Her eyebrows were really tightly close to each other – she looked almost pained.

"Please, I think...I hope that maybe this will be okay...just talk to her, okay?"

She ducked back from the door. Yami no Yugi didn't move. His hands had curled into fists without him realizing it.

"What do you think?" he asked softly.

Yugi didn't answer for a moment.

"_Let me talk to her," _he said.

Yami no Yugi nodded and withdrew. Yugi pulled some socks from the dresser and pulled them on as he headed down to the door. He slipped into his boots. If she was just outside, he didn't think there was a need for a coat, so he just opened the door.

Instantly, both of them regretted it, as it was freezing outside and the air whooshed in like knives cutting through them. Yugi gritted his teeth, though, and said nothing. Because Cadence was just standing outside the door.

She looked even taller than normal for some reason. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. It was the first time he had ever seen her without her school uniform: she was dressed in a long dark gray trench coat and obviously had a black dress on underneath, the lacy trim rippling around her feet. He supposed she was wearing heels, and that was why she looked taller, although how anyone could wear heels in this weather was beyond him.

"What's up?" Yugi asked.

There was none of Cadence's usual coldness in her eyes – just a sort of resignation.

"I am talking to the original Yugi, correct? Not the spirit in your pendant."

Yugi drew inwards slightly, guarded. It was true – she knew, too. Not only Dawn had noticed. But then, how did Cadence know? And how did she know about the Puzzle?

"Yes, you're talking to Yugi, not Yami," Yugi said.

Cadence snorted softly, as though she found the name "Yami" ridiculous. She did not, however, comment on that.

"What do you want?" Yugi said. "You've been really kind of rude to the other me, you know?"

Cadence's lips pressed into a thin line.

"I have my reasons for what I am doing, Mutou Yugi. Reasons that for now I don't wish to share. I am here to appeal to your common sense."

"I don't know what you mean," Yugi said.

"I understand that the spirit of your pendant has taken it into his head to attend the dance with my friend Mana."

"Yeah, and she said yes. So why do you care? Friends should be happy for each other."

Cadence's face hardened.

"I'm asking you to step back from this," she said. "Think about it, Mutou Yugi. The spirit of your pendant doesn't belong to this world anymore. Is it fair for him to raise Mana's hopes up for something that will never happen? Is it fair to give her this happiness and snatch it away from her? The spirit won't be here forever. Think about it."

Yami no Yugi could feel Yugi's sudden burst of rage so acutely that it actually made him flinch.

"No, _you_ think about it," Yugi snapped. "You think because something is going to end it's not worth happening in the first place? I guess no one should do anything ever because we're all just going to die anyway! Maybe it will hurt, but in the end I think it will always be worth it to be happy! And if you're really Mana's friend, you'll want her to be happy! So leave the other me alone, because he deserves happiness too!"

A rush of gratitude washed over Yami no Yugi. Cadence's words had struck a painful chord with him, but his partner's anger on his behalf...that had meant so much more.

Cadence's eyes flashed. Her lips pressed together even tighter.

"...Fine," she said. "I can't say I didn't try."

She turned on her heel and began to click down the recently cleared sidewalk. Yugi glared after her. His fists were actually shaking slightly.

Then, suddenly, Cadence paused. She glanced over her shoulder, her braid tossing back against her back.

"Don't you think it's getting colder out?" she said, voice barely above a whisper.

Then, without explanation, she turned away, and continued on.

Yugi scowled after her.

"What's her problem, anyway?" he muttered, turning back into the house.

But Yami no Yugi felt a strange uneasiness settle over him.

_Don't you think it's getting colder out?_

What was that supposed to mean?

******. . .**

"Wow! You look awesome, Yami!"

Yami no Yugi didn't _feel_ awesome. He felt, simply put, _ridiculous._

Dawn squealed, clapping her hands. Then she came over to adjust his tie, as he had been pulling at it dubiously.

"Stop touching it, stop touching it, ooooh, there you go, great!"

It was only five in the evening and Dawn was a whirlwind of activity. She kept fussing over Yami, fixing his tie or his tuxedo – he hadn't known this was going to be such a formal event.

Yugi was giggling at him in the back of his head. Yami no Yugi reminded him silently that this was technically _his_ body that was getting fussed over, but Yugi still continued to giggle.

Dawn finally found herself satisfied with the fit of the rented tuxedo, and she stepped back to look him over.

"Great!" she said. "I hope that tie's the right color. Mana wouldn't show me her dress, she just pointed to a colored pencil that was 'close enough' to the color of her dress. Oh well. Can't go too wrong with dark purple, I guess."

"_Are ties supposed to match the girl's dress?"_ Yami no Yugi asked Yugi.

"_Yeah, I guess,"_ Yugi said. _"I guess you want to match your partner, right?"_

Yami no Yugi blushed a little bit. Luckily, Dawn was distracted by Kisara opening the bathroom door.

"Um, Dawn...could you, um...zip this...?"

"Oh! Sure, be right there! Stop playing with your tie, Yami, I just got it situated!"

Dawn disappeared into the bathroom. A couple beats later, the door burst open.

"Ta-da!" she announced.

Kisara flushed a bright pink. She was wearing a sky-blue dress with a thick silver belt and a straight neckline just beneath her collarbone. The dress had some light gauzy material that flowed over the shoulders and reattached around her wrists. It flowed into a light silver gradient from the bodice to the end of the skirt, and the tiny pleats made it look like water rushing down a falls every time she moved and set it rippled. Dawn had done her hair, too, putting part of it up into an elaborate half ponytail and letting the rest spill down across her shoulders.

"You look beautiful, Kisara-san," Yami no Yugi said, seeing her discomfort.

She blushed a little deeper, but smiled anyway.

"So you are able to come after all, then?" Yami no Yugi said. "Dawn said there was a problem because you aren't enrolled."

"I signed a guest form for her!" Dawn said, grinning. "So that means you're my partner tonight, Kisara!"

She threw her arms around Kisara's shoulders, prompting further blushing.

"Dawn..." Kisara mumbled.

Yami no Yugi couldn't help but grin.

"Okay, I gotta change. Dom's gonna be here in a minute, and then dad's gonna drive us to meet Mana and Cadence at the school."

She ducked into the bathroom without a word, leaving Yami no Yugi and Kisara alone.

Kisara fidgeted. She kept looking at the couch like she wanted to sit down, but seemed afraid of messing up her dress.

"It's kind of weird, huh?" Yami no Yugi said. "I've never worn one of these before."

"I can't remember if I've ever worn a dress," Kisara said.

She gripped her skirt between her hands, slowly swishing it back and forth and staring at the ripples as though it were mesmerizing.

"Although...it feels kind of familiar...the color, I mean. Maybe the dress, too."

She frowned slightly. Then she shook her head.

"Oh, I shouldn't be worrying myself. Tonight's a good night, right?"

Yami no Yugi smiled. He himself had been trying to put Cadence's confrontation out of his mind. At least he wasn't the only one worrying on a night that was supposed to be enjoyable.

"Right," he said. "Let's try to have fun."

Kisara nodding, smiling.

The bathroom door burst open.

"Make way for meeee!" Dawn said in a singsong voice.

Her dress was nowhere near as elaborate as Kisara's, but it had a definite elegance to it. It was a deep, deep blue, with silver trim beneath the bust. The low neckline was straight and sleeveless, and the skirt fell straight, the fabric clinging close to her curves. She had done her hair in an elaborate updo and had even applied perfect makeup – how had she done all of that in such a short span of time?

"_If ever there was proof that she's the Dark Magician Girl, that might be it,"_ Yugi joked.

Yami no Yugi laughed a little himself.

"You look beautiful, Dawn," Kisara said.

"Aww, thanks!" Dawn said, flipping her skirt back and forth.

A knock sounded from the door.

"Ah! That'll be Dom!" Dawn said. She hurried off, as though it were physically impossible for her to remain still. A moment later, she came back with Dominic. He, too, was wearing a suit, although his tie was a dark maroon.

"Not one, but two lovely ladies!" Dominic said brightly, bowing towards Kisara. Kisara blushed and ducked her head. Dominic grinned and held up the small box in his hands.

"What's that?" Yami no Yugi said.

"Corsages, of course," he said. "I'm from a flower shop, remember? Here, Dawn, here's yours for Kisara."

"Perfect!" Dawn said, taking the small bunch of white flowers from Dominic. "Here you are, my lady!"

She bowed to Kisara with a flourish and then pulled the stretchy part of the bracelet around Kisara's wrist.

"Carnations," Dominic said. "Sweet and lovely flowers for a sweet and lovely person. Here, Kisara, you can give this one to Dawn."

He handed Kisara another flower bracelet, this one also with white flowers, although a different shade.

"Those are crocuses – appropriate for someone as cheerful as you, Dawn," Dominic said.

"You and your flower symbolism," Dawn said, giggling. Kisara blushed and struggled a bit to put Dawn's corsage on.

"I've got a viscaria one for you, Yami," Dominic said. "Give to Mana at the dance."

He handed Yami no Yugi the flower bracelet. This one was made with small pinkish-purple flowers.

"And what does this one mean?" Yami no Yugi asked.

"'Will you dance with me?'" Dominic said, grinning. "I found it appropriate."

"I guess," Yami no Yugi said.

He cradled the flowers, smiling at them. They were so tiny, so beautiful. Even in the cold of this winter, there were flowers. That seemed a very cheerful thought to him.

"What did you get for Cadence?" Dawn asked.

"Pink chrysanthemum," Dominic said. "Thought I'd play it safe. Chrysanthemums are just for friendship. Unless they're red. I went with pink instead."

"Good plan, Cadence knows as much about flowers as you do," Dawn said. "No sneaking a red rose in on her!"

Dominic chuckled.

"She only knows about them because I talk about them. Well, should we get going? Or does anyone need to finish getting fancied up?"

"We're ready," Dawn said. "_DAD! WE'RE READY TO GO!"_

Darcy appeared almost instantly from the kitchen.

"Well, why didn't you say so?" he said with a quiet, joking smile.

They piled into Darcy's car, Kisara in the passenger seat and the other three squeezing into the very back.

Not more than two minutes had passed before Dawn started singing show tunes Yami no Yugi had never heard of before, and Dominic joined in with the harmonies, until they devolved into bickering over the details of a lyric.

"You never even saw that show, what are you talking about? You don't know anything about theater!"

"I know just as much as you do, and I'm telling you that you heard the lyrics wrong! He's totally singing "ducks"!"

"Why would he say ducks? It's a love song!"

"Maybe he likes ducks!"

"We're here," Darcy said, sounding relieved. "Everybody out. Careful, it's icy."

"Thanks!" Dawn said, bouncing out into the cold.

Yami no Yugi shuddered as he stepped out, pausing to reach back to Kisara and help her steady herself.

"I don't remember ever wearing heels," she muttered.

He laughed softly, and then Dawn rushed over to sweep Kisara away.

"Go away, Yami," she teased. "Kisara's _my_ date tonight! You can have Mana!"

Yami no Yugi shook his head as Dawn dragged Kisara to the doors.

"Does she ever slow down?"

"Nope," Dominic said. "Come on, let's not keep our ladies waiting!"

He strutted down the sidewalk so exaggeratedly that he almost slipped on the ice. He tried to make it look like he meant it by doing a jazz hand motion at the end of the slide, but he only succeeded in making himself look more ridiculous.

"Thank you for the ride," Yami no Yugi said to Darcy.

"No problem," Darcy said, smiling.

He looked so incredibly familiar. That smile was...nostalgic somehow. Yami no Yugi shook his head.

"Have fun," Darcy said. "Don't keep Mana waiting any longer."

"I won't," Yami no Yugi said.

But for some reason, the way Darcy said it made it seem...deeper somehow. Yami no Yugi closed his eyes for a brief moment. Then he headed for the doors.

At first it was too bright, even though most of the lights were actually off.

"Yami!"

Mana barrelled across the room and practically steamrollered him, almost taking them both over.

"Gah!"

"Oops!"

She grabbed him before he toppled over.

"That was enthusiastic," Yami no Yugi said.

Mana blushed, but she didn't stop smiling. And then he blushed too, because she looked incredible.

She was wearing a lavender dress, with layers upon layers of gauzy material making up the poofy skirt. Floral decals were sewn along the bottom of the bodice and spiraled down part of the skirt. The bodice was characterized by thick, dark purple ribbons crisscrossing each other, moving up past the bodice to wrap around her neck in place of sleeves.

"You look...great," Yami no Yugi said, after realizing he was staring.

"Thanks!" Mana said. "I love this dress! You look pretty fetching yourself!"

Yami no Yugi smiled, although he felt embarrassed.

"I feel a little silly, but thank you," he said. "Oh! Here!"

He held up the corsage. Mana's eyes sparkled.

"Oh! It's beautiful! Thank you!"

"Dominic's idea," Yami no Yugi mumbled.

She giggled.

"I figured, he always does this. He regaled you with the meanings of the flowers too, didn't he?"

"He certainly did," Yami no Yugi said.

After a beat of hesitation, he reached out and took her hand lightly in his. He lifted it so that he could stretch the corsage around her wrist, but after it was there, he didn't want to drop her hand. There was a soft warmth against his fingers, pulsing from her heart. They stood like that for a moment, just looking at the corsage.

Yami no Yugi cleared his throat.

"I've been told that this flower's meaning is a question," he said. "So giving it to you...I guess I'm asking that questions. Mana, will you dance with me?"

Mana's smile was bright enough to light an entire city.

"Of course," she said.

His fingers entwined with hers, and they walked out towards the dance floor.

The music hadn't started yet, but couples were milling about. Yami no Yugi saw Dominic with Cadence, who was dressed in a form fitting dark red dress that flared out just around the legs with white fabric revealed beneath, tight white decals wrapping around the waist and knee areas. She appeared to be avoiding looking at him. Yami no Yugi decided to follow suit. He didn't need her toxicity tonight.

Tonight, it was just him and Mana.

There were a few tapping sounds from a microphone, a sort of test, test sound. Then the speakers starting picking up the music, and people started to find their partners.

The first dance was a medium paced one without any vocals. Mana and Yami took each other's hands.

Mana ended up taking the lead after Yami no Yugi trod on her toes a few too many times. There was actually less dancing and more of them falling into each other and laughing, but most people were doing that. The second song jumped up to a dance club beat, and then it wasn't just couple dancing anymore, groups of friends were drawing together and just basically jumping up and down to the beat. Yami no Yugi couldn't have held in his smiles and laughter if he tried. Dominic twirled into the group and started trying to breakdance with little success, especially after Dawn pushed him over. Mana squealed with laughter. Even Cadence cracked a smile.

"_Wish Anzu could have been here for this," _Yugi said. _"She would have loved it!"_

"_I know,"_ Yami no Yugi said, breathless. _"This is actually kind of tiring. But I can see why Anzu enjoys dancing so much."_

More songs flew by, just blurs of noise, lights, and laughter as everyone bounced around with a wild abandon. Yami no Yugi could really not remember the last time he had laughed so much. The music slowed down again, and once more, Mana grabbed Yami no Yugi and pulled him to dance with her.

He could feel her heartbeat against his hand on her waist. He was sure she could feel his from her hand on his shoulder, it was beating so fast. He hadn't done this much exercise in...well, ever.

There wasn't a need to talk, though. He was glad, because he was sure he wouldn't be able to put words together. He and Mana just swayed slowly to the rhythm, sharing each other's heartbeat. They just shared gazes silently, smiling like dorks.

"Yami," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome...but for what?"

She giggled.

"For tonight, of course, silly! This is a lot of fun. I'm glad you're here."

"I'm glad you're here, too. Thank you for coming with me."

She blushed.

"I'm really, really happy I met you," she said.

"Me too," Yami no Yugi said.

She looked like she was going to say something else.

Then that song was over, and it started to pick up in speed again. Mana drew back, dropping her arms to her sides.

"Whoo!" she said. "I'm getting really tired! I need a drink do you need a drink I think I'll go get a drink be right back!"

She ducked away, face a bright red, before he could interject, and she disappeared quickly in the mass of dancing bodies. What had just happened? Had he done something wrong? Why had she left so quickly? He suddenly felt a tad sick, and it was much warmer in here than he had realized. Dawn twirled over to him.

"Ooooh, did you scare her away?" she said, her cheeks red from dancing and her smile huge.

"I don't know what I did..."

"Oh, it's fine, she's just...well. _You_ know."

He did not know, however, her mischievous smile seemed to indicate that she thought otherwise.

"Anyway, you should totally switch out with Yugi, it's his turn to dance with me," she said. "You don't get to have all the fun!"

Yami no Yugi couldn't argue with that, even though Yugi started protesting wildly. Yami no Yugi laughed mischievously as he ducked into the puzzle anyway. Yugi muttered at him about leaving him in an awkward position next time, but then Dawn swept the boy away into the dance.

It was quieter in the Puzzle, although he could still hear the bass thrumming through him. Still, it was a much-needed break from the constant barrage of noise and motion. He took a moment to breathe.

This was actually a lot more fun than he had expected. He didn't know of anything like this in Japan. He did wonder where Mana had gone, though. And why so abruptly? Had he done something wrong?

Dawn's exuberance tired Yugi out even faster than Yami no Yugi had gotten tired, and he begged Yami no Yugi to switch with him. Laughing, Yami no Yugi took control over again, feeling the relieved sigh of his partner at the back of his head. His ears popped slightly as he readjusted to the music. Oh, it really was loud, wasn't it?

"I'm going to find Mana," he called over the music.

"Good!" Dawn shouted back, and she ran off to grab Kisara and start twirling her around.

Yami no Yugi smiled and shook his head. Then he took on the task of weaving through the mob of constantly moving people. It was like trying to crawl through shifting sand, he thought.

Finally, though, he made it to the end of the dance floor. He didn't see Mana right away. Oh, right, didn't she say something about a drink? There was a table across the room with refreshments, and a few people were crowded around it. He made his way over.

There she was, hovering over the punch bowl, gripping her plastic cup in both hands as she shifted back and forth on her feet, biting her lip and staring at nothing. Yami no Yugi hesitated. Maybe she had wanted a moment to breath by herself – maybe he shouldn't have followed her.

She seemed to startle out of her reverie, and their eyes met across the room. A faint pink warmed her tan cheeks. Yami no Yugi smiled hesitantly. After a beat, he crossed the last of the distance so that he was standing across from her.

"I...sorry. I was just wondering where you ended up..."

"Oh, sorry, I was gonna come back and then I spaced out," Mana said. "I've been doing that a lot lately...sorry!"

"No, don't apologize. I need a short break from that, too."

The bass was still incredibly loud, and they were both almost shouting to be heard. Yami no Yugi realized with a start that he was also incredibly thirsty, and he picked up one of the already full cups of punch. Mana squeezed her cup between her fingers without drinking it. For a moment, there was only the music between them.

Yami no Yugi's eyes wandered towards the doors. He saw a couple stepping outside into the parking lot.

"Want to step outside for a moment?" he said.

"That's a good idea," Mana said.

The cold rush of air sucked his breath away as they stepped outside. Instantly, they were wrapped in a chill and silence. His ears rang softly, but it was a comforting sort of feeling. The way the silence hung over them was a relief from the noise, fun as the dance was so far.

"Much better," Mana sighed. "I can only handle the music for so long, you know?"

"Yeah," Yami no Yugi said. "It's cold out here, though."

Mana hugged her arms as though just noticing it. Her dress didn't have any sleeves. Frowning, he shrugged his tux jacket off.

"Here," he said.

"Oh, no I'm fine...you'll be cold..."

"I'm wearing a long-sleeved shirt, I can handle it a bit better."

Mana hesitated for just a brief second. Then she took the jacket from his outstretched hand and slung it over her shoulders, wrapping it around herself without putting her arms through the sleeves.

"Thanks," she said.

He nodded. They stood quietly for a moment. The silence hung heavily, their breath spiraling up tendrils of steam.

"Oh," Mana said. "It's snowing."

Yami no Yugi had just noticed the first flakes. They were tiny, drifting things, bobbing along as they fluttered towards the ground. So small, so tiny. It was amazing to think that they could pile up to such heights. Mana sighed deeply, her breath coming out in a rush of steam.

"You know, Yami?" she said. "I used to really hate winter. Even when I had been here for a while, I...I hated it. So cold, and bare, and dead...so not like home."

She dropped her chin to her chest, not looking at him. Yami no Yugi glanced at her. Everything was so quiet. He suddenly felt like he wanted to stand closer to her...but felt like maybe he wasn't allowed to. She started talking again, pausing his thoughts.

"But then I met you in the winter," Mana said, lifting her head. "And I don't think I hate snow anymore."

The flakes drifted down between them. She turned towards him, her dark emerald eyes looking a deep chocolate brown in the light. He couldn't look away from her.

"I...you know, I'm not a big fan of winter either," Yami no Yugi said. "I never liked the cold. It just...felt wrong."

Mana didn't drop her eyes from him.

"But when I came here, I was...I was nervous, I guess. It's so different than what I'm used to, so far out of my comfort zone...and I met you, and...and you were so friendly. So welcoming."

He dropped his eyes, and then lifted them to the dark sky and the snowflakes drifting from it.

"I didn't like snow either," he said. "But when I see it...I think about you, now."

He felt Mana draw closer to him, felt her hand reaching out and sliding into his. Without even thinking about it, he gripped it back.

"_Is it fair to give her happiness and then snatch it away?"_

"_The spirit doesn't belong to this world anymore."_

His fingers loosened. He almost dropped her hand.

And then he tightened his grip. He didn't care. He knew it wouldn't last, it couldn't, but he didn't care. Just because something had to end didn't mean that it wasn't worth it. He was going to enjoy the moment, the moment that he had with her right now.

It felt familiar. In fact, everything felt so incredibly familiar. Even the mounds of snow glistening in the dark, although, perhaps they seemed the wrong color.

"I don't hate winter anymore because I think about you," Mana said. "Thank you, Yami..."

Yami no Yugi smiled.

"No...thank you," he said.

This felt right. It felt warm. She leaned against his shoulder, and he leaned back against her.

He was so wrapped up in the silence, in her warmth, in the rightness of the moment, that he did not notice the air dropping steadily in temperature around them.

"_Don't you think it's getting colder out?"_

******. . .**

**A/N: hey I said this would be out on Monday and then I said it would be out last night but that didn't happen anyway here it is now hope it's good enough! :D Oooh, okay we're starting to get out of the fluff and diving straight down into the gritty part of the plot. What's Cadence's problem anyway? Is she a villain? Who knoooows? :D Viscaria, as mentioned in the chapter, means "will you dance with me?" Next chapter should be out Monday. Til then~!**


	7. Demon's Marigold

It was blisteringly cold this morning. There was no snow and the sky was clear, but the wind ripped through the town like an angry dragon. Yami no Yugi shuddered.

"Can't we stay inside today?" he muttered into his scarf.

"And miss seeing Kisara at her first day on the job? I don't think so!" Dawn said, bopping him on the head. "Where's your sense of courage?"

"I left it in bed with all of my warmth."

Mana half-snorted, half-chuckled, pressed her mouth into her mitten to still her giggles. He hadn't thought it was that funny, but her cheer warmed him up a little, and he smiled.

"Well as long as it's warm in the flower shop," he said.

"It'd have to be, there are flowers there!" Dawn said. "Here we are!"

They stopped in front of Dominic's family's flower shop.

"Where's Cadence?" Mana asked, glancing up and down the street.

"Probably sleeping in, come on, we can meet her inside, it's _cold_!" Dawn said.

"Where's _your_ sense of courage?" Yami no Yugi asked, grinning.

Dawn bopped him on the head again and scurried indoors. Yami no Yugi laughed and followed.

Warm air rushed out in a burst, chimes jingling somewhere deep inside the room in response to the door opening. Mana closed it quickly behind them.

It was like stepping from Antarctica into the jungle – there were flowers _everywhere._ The heat was actually quite surprising; Yami no Yugi pulled off his hat and Mana started stuffing her mittens away and unbuttoning her coat.

"Wow! I always forget how warm it is in here," she said.

Flowers, flowers, flowers, everywhere. There wasn't a surface that wasn't covered in pots, barely a walkway to pass through the rows upon rows of blossoms hanging low. It was like walking through a rainforest.

"Good morning...oh! Hello everyone."

It was hard to see her past the flowers, but there was an aisle straight to the back with a simple counter and register, and Kisara stood behind it. She had put her hair back into a long ponytail and swept the bangs from her eyes. She almost looked like a different person without that one long bang hanging straight down her forehead. She also wore a green apron over her blouse and dress pants.

"You look sooo cute!" Dawn squealed. "Like a flower princess in a flower kingdom!"

"But I'm not wearing any flowers or anything so how can I..."

"Shush, you are a flower princess in a flower kingdom!"

Kisara gave up arguing, simply shaking her head and smiling as a small blush crept across her face. A door opened up behind the counter and Dominic appeared with an armful of cut flowers.

"Hallo there!" he said, waving. "Doesn't Kisara look great? Flowers make everyone look a billion times prettier – and with Kisara that's just uber amounts of pretty, eh?"

Kisara flushed a bright red and mumbled something that both Dominic and Dawn ignored as they continued to gush over her, Dawn starting to try and put some of the picked flowers in her hair and Kisara ducking away.

Yami no Yugi and Mana exchanged glances, trying to hide their laughs and failing.

"Poor Kisara," Mana said. "Those two are a handful."

"I think she's all right," Yami no Yugi said.

He leaned over to look at a bunch of roses. Dominic's voice faded into white noise of the background as he started showing Kisara how to arrange the cut flowers into bouquets and then tie and wrap them. Mana leaned into Yami no Yugi to make him stumble. He grinned at her and pushed back. She stumbled with a gleeful yelp. She smacked him with one of her mittens.

"Cheater," he said.

"What? You started it," Yami no Yugi said.

"You pushed harder."

Yami no Yugi just smiled wider and nudged her again. He managed to catch her by the wrist before she tumbled into a pot of dahlias, though.

"It's so pretty in here," Mana said.

"Yeah," Yami no Yugi said. "The scents are starting to become a bit overpowering, though."

"I guess there are a lot, huh? Like they're all competing for our attention."

"Hmm, the scented equivalent to a battle of the bands?"

Mana burst out laughing but clapped her hands over her mouth and just kind of shook for a moment.

"What? It wasn't that funny," Yami no Yugi said.

"No, but I just imagined a bunch of punk rock guys with all these flowers in their hair screaming at each other," Mana said in between giggles.

Yami no Yugi wasn't quite certain what punk rock guys would look like, but he imagined they would be something like the gang members he had encountered back in Domino, and that also was a funny image to him so he had to put his head down and try to silence the chuckles.

To distract himself, he looked over the flowers. There were so many, in so many colors and designs – they were gorgeous. Maybe he should buy one to bring back home. Would that be allowed on the plane, though? Perhaps he should stick with some seeds. What kind of plants would be best?

"_What do you think, Yugi? Should we spruce up the game shop a little?"_ he mused.

"_Get a packet of pansies, my mom likes those,"_ Yugi said.

Yami no Yugi nodded, wandering towards the wall full of seed packets.

The opening bell chimed somewhere in the door and there was the whooshing sound of wind outside as the door opened.

"Oh, Cadence!" Mana said. "There you are; I was starting to worry."

Yami no Yugi glanced over his shoulder. Mana had trotted over to greet Cadence, and for once, the girl was smiling. She was actually pretty when she wasn't glaring at him. She looked dead tired, though; the circles under her eyes were deep enough to rival Kaiba when he was on a three day streak of no sleep, and she seemed to drag slightly as she walked into the room.

"Good morning Cadence," Dawn said in a singsong tone. "Sleep weeell?"

Cadence's smile dissipated. Something seemed to pass between the two girls for a moment, Dawn smiling slightly, Cadence glowering. Yami no Yugi thought he felt a small thrill of cold through his spine.

But it was over in a moment, and Cadence dropped her gaze, turning her attention to Mana, who was trying to show her a really pretty pink lily and wouldn't that look really super nice on your desk to complement the black ebony?

A few more customers came in. The store felt a bit crowded, but no way was Yami no Yugi heading out into that cold until he absolutely had to. He bent down to examine the seed packets, already holding one for pansies, and was considering the lilies. He heard Kisara interact with the customers, soft-spoken and polite and even a little nervous, and smiled. Even though she had forgotten everything, she was still so in control of her life. He admired that in her, admired the way that she had taken the initiative to find herself something to keep her mind of things so she wouldn't push her memory too hard. Yami no Yugi, well...when he didn't have the world to save, he felt like he was drifting.

A frown had started to form at the thought when Mana appeared like meteor, attacking him with a giant hug and nearly toppling him over.

"Geez, Mana!" he said, a laugh bursting from him and wiping away the sad thoughts.

"Oooh, are you getting some flowers?" Mana said. "Seeds, huh, you're going to grow them? Do you have a garden at home?"

"No, there's no space in the city. I'll probably just grow them in pots..."

"Mine always seem to die – I think I water them too much. I have some water lilies, though, in a big bowl, and I don't have to worry about overwatering those!"

"You wouldn't overwater them if you would just listen to me," Dominic said from behind the counter. "I told you, just a little drizzle once a day, or whenever the soil feels too dry."

"I can't tell when it's 'too' dry, it always feels dry to me!" Mana said, pouting.

She hadn't yet taken her arms from around Yami no Yugi's neck, but he didn't mind. The feeling of her leaning against him in a prolonged hug felt somehow nostalgic, and definitely comforting. He didn't want his thoughts to stray back to where they had been before.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. He tried to reach for it, but Mana was kind of in the way so he had to shift her off of him with a laugh before fishing it out of his pocket. Anzu's name flashed on the screen. What would she be calling him at this hour for? Wasn't it late at night in Japan?

He shrugged, and flipped it open.

"Hello?" he said, in Japanese.

Mana look curious, and Yami no Yugi mouthed 'friend from back home.' She smiled and nodded.

"_Yugi,_" Anzu said, sounding frantic. "Or – or which Yugi is this – oh god, I – I guess it doesn't matter, both of you are listening right –"

Instantly, Yami no Yugi tensed, his senses crackled, and every hair stood on edge.

"Anzu, slow down," he said, trying to sound calm. His mind was racing though, making it hard. What had happened? What was wrong? "What is it? What's wrong?"

Anzu gasped a few times on the other end.

"It's – oh god, Yugi, it's your grandpa, they had to send an ambulance, it was cardiac arrest, he's in the emergency room right now, your mom and Jonouchi and Honda and Ryo are all here – "

The phone slipped in Yami no Yugi's hand. Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt Yugi's emotions explode and then withdraw with shock.

Grandpa?

"Yugi? Yugi? Are you still there? Yugi?"

"Yami, what's wrong? Is something wrong?" Mana said, obviously noticing his expression.

Yami no Yugi's mouth was dry; he couldn't speak for a moment.

"Yugi?" Anzu pleaded. "Yugi?"

"I'm – I'm here," he said.

"Oh god, Yugi, I'm so sorry, I don't know, it looks bad, he hasn't woken up yet..."

Yami no Yugi swallowed, tried to speak around a thick tongue.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming back. I'll be on the first flight back."

"Yugi, I – I'm so sorry, I –"

"Please, just stay with my grandpa, please. Keep me posted. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay. Okay."

They both hung up – there was nothing left to say.

"Yami?" Mana said, her voice small. It seemed to echo in Yami no Yugi's brain – he couldn't think straight, couldn't see straight.

"My...my grandpa," he said. "He had a heart attack."

Mana gasped.

"Oh, no," she said. "Is he...is he okay?"

Behind the counter, Kisara's face had gone white, her hand covering her mouth. Dominic had dropped the flowers he was wrapping. Dawn looked stricken.

"I don't know. They say it's bad."

His head was spinning.

"I'm sorry, Mana, I'm sorry, I have to go back. I have to go back to Japan and make sure that – I mean if this is –"

He could feel Yugi throwing the toys around his soul room, torn between anger and terror. He had to go back to Japan. He had to go back and make sure grandpa was okay. And if he wasn't...if he wasn't he had to be there...in case...

Mana's eyes filled up with tears. She nodded though.

"I get it," she whispered.

Yami no Yugi felt something in him break.

He had forgotten that this meant he was leaving everyone. He was leaving Mana.

For a moment, his eyes swept the group – Kisara's pale face, Dominic mouthing 'sorries', Dawn staring at nothing as though it were her grandpa that had been sent to the hospital, Mana looking heartbroken with tears in her eyes.

Cadence, momentary shock passing across her eyes, and then being replaced with something else.

She almost looked triumphant.

**. . .**

Darcy drove him to the train station. Mana, Dawn, Kisara, and Dominic all squished into the back seat to see him off. Cadence hadn't been able to come. Yami no Yugi couldn't bring himself to care about Cadence right now. He was so filled with worry, with regret, with fury at fate and terror at what was coming. He was feeling so much he wasn't sure he felt anything at all.

Yugi had locked himself in his soul room and wasn't talking to him. He knew it was nothing he had done, that Yugi was just so terrified about what had happened to his grandpa, but...he missed Yugi's reassuring presence. He wanted his mind mate there, so that they could calm each other down.

Darcy parked. Small snowflakes were starting to drift from the sky.

"Snowy winter," he muttered.

He pushed out of the car. Dawn flipped her door open and popped out, turning around to help Kisara out next. Dominic crawled out after them, but neither Mana nor Yami no Yugi moved for a moment. Yami no Yugi was the one to stand up first. He hesitated, then opened Mana's door.

She stared at her knees, her thick bangs covering her eyes.

"Mana?" Yami no Yugi said softly.

She didn't look up. She did, however, slid out of the card and into the snow. She walked past him without a word. Yami no Yugi watched her walk, then closed her door behind her. He tramped through the snow onto the station.

"The train's leaving soon," Darcy said. "You'll be there in time for the night flight."

"Thank you," Yami no Yugi said. "You've been very kind to me. I'm sorry the trip had to be cut short."

Darcy smiled, his aqua blue eyes clear as the sky above.

"You were a privilege to host, Yami," he said. "You're always welcome the next time you come to visit."

He held out his hand, and Yami no Yugi shook it, smiling his thanks. Dawn leapt towards him next.

"You! Cell phone! Number! Now!" she said.

Without waiting for him to answer, she pulled his phone from his breast pocket and starting dialing in her number. He let her do it. He couldn't really bring himself to argue with or play along with her cheer.

"Get mine in there too," Dominic said.

"Going, going, going," Dawn said. "Don't lean, Dominic, I'm doing it already!"

While Dawn and Dominic messed with Yugi's phone, Kisara drew closer to him.

"I'm sorry about your grandpa," she said.

"Thank you," he said.

She hesitated, looking down at her feet.

"I...Yami. I want to thank you," she said.

"What for?"

"Well...you encouraged me. I was scared...I still am, about who I am and where I came from, but...thank you. I think I may be able to remember some day soon, and I know that I can keep walking forward because of you."

Yami no Yugi gave her a real smile.

"You're welcome, then," he said. "I'll still keep looking for that person you're waiting for."

She smiled.

"Thank you," she said again.

There was the sound of a bell. The train was leaving soon.

"There!" Dawn said, throwing the phone back at him. "I expect messages! I will be sending you lots of them so I hope you have a good texting plan!"

Yami no Yugi almost laughed, but his heart was a little too heavy for that.

"Thank you," he said. "I'll miss you. All of you. And – and I'll try to come back to see you soon. For Christmas, I hope."

Perhaps Kaiba could be persuaded to buy an extra airfare ticket. He had already bought the rest of the group tickets, so if theirs were already booked, he would definitely come along.

"Promise?" Dawn said.

"Promise," Yami no Yugi said.

He stepped back. He glanced at Mana, who still hadn't spoken or looked at him. Then, suddenly, she burst forward, throwing her arms around him. He stumbled back a few feet, then stood there awkwardly with his arms pinned to his sides and her face in his chest.

"Mana..." he said.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was being so selfish...of course you have to go back and see you grandpa. But I wanted you to stay. I know you can't be here forever but...oh, I'm so sorry for being selfish!"

"Mana, it's okay...I'm – I'm a little selfish too. I wanted to stay too."

She sniffled loudly, and stepped back from him.

"Gimme your phone, I need to put my number on it," she said, eyes already red with tears.

He handed it over, and she gave him hers. He programmed Yugi's number into it, and then they switched phones again.

"I'll miss you," she said.

"Me too," he said.

He hesitated a moment longer. Then, on the spur of the moment, he pulled out his deck, and selected a card.

"Here," he said, handing it to her. "Hold onto this for me."

Mana's eyes widened as she stared at the Dark Magician Girl card in his hand.

"But this is..."

"You like this card, right? It's a pretty important part of my deck so...so if you have it, I'll have to come back, right? I'll need it back, though, so don't steal it!"

He tried to keep his tone light-hearted, but it was so, so hard. Mana stared at the card for a minute longer. The train made another noise indicating that it was about to leave. He pushed it at her and she scrambled to catch it.

"I'll be back! Soon! I promise!" Yami no Yugi shouted over his shoulder, running for the train. "I promise!"

He leapt onto the train moments before the doors closer. He hurried down the aisle and jumped into one of the seats, staring out the window at his friends waving, Dawn with both hands as she jumped up and down, Dominic saluting, Kisara with a dainty little wave and her hair blowing in the wind.

Mana, running alongside the train as it started to move, waving the Dark Magician Girl card in the air and shouting after him, although he couldn't hear with the windows closed. He could read her lips though _"you promised! You have to, now! You promised!"_

He smiled at her although there were tears bubbling in his eyes. This was just temporary, he reminded himself. Temporary. He would be back for Christmas break.

And then Mana was out of sight, the train picking up speed. Yami no Yugi sank back into his chair. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, letting just a few of the tears roll quietly down his cheeks. He felt like he had done something horribly, horribly wrong.

It wasn't long before he drifted off to his half-sleep in his soul room and Yugi took back control.

A single thought occurred to him just before he fell into his unconscious state.

_Wasn't this train a steam train with compartments the last time I was on it?_

**. . .**

**A/N: Bam. I just destroyed all of your fluff *evil laugh* Don't worry yourselves, though, he'll definitely be back with the others for Christmas. I had to throw a curve ball at you somehow, though, didn't I? Oooh, and what about that mysteriously changing train, hm? Next chapter will be out next Monday. As for the flower of the chapter, marigold means "grief."**


	8. (interlude) Last Purple Hyacinth

_((this is an "interlude" chapter, in which the story switches POV to one of the other characters. The POVs in this chapter are Anzu and Ryo))_

**. . .**

Anzu rolled her phone around in her hands as they rested on her knees. She hated the feeling of hospital waiting rooms. There was something about the artificial lighting in them that felt even more dead than normal artificial lights. She heard the soft coughing of a man somewhere behind her, and a child crying quietly because "their tummy hurt real bad" while their mother rocked them and made soft shushing noises.

She heard the doors open and looked up. As soon as she caught a glimpse of Yugi's distinctive silhouette she jumped up from her seat and half ran across the lobby.

He didn't protest against her hug, but she could tell this probably wasn't the time, and cut it short.

"How is he?" Yugi asked as she stepped back, looking up at her with his childish purple eyes.

"He's stable and awake," Anzu said. "They kicked me out because I'm not family..."

She glanced up at Yugi's mother, Naoko, who had arrived along with Yugi. Naoko smiled and squeezed Anzu's hand, but she looked so, so tired.

"Thank you for staying, Anzu-chan," she said. "You've been so supportive through all of this. You're welcome to head home, now, you've been staying around since yesterday..."

"It's fine, Mutou-san," she said. "I'd like to be here, if you need me..."

She glanced at Yugi hesitantly. Relief had broken over his face when she said she would stay, and that more than anything brought a warmth to her chest. There was no way she was leaving her friend during this.

"Can we go see him?" Yugi asked.

"I think so," Anzu said. "He's going to be okay, Yugi. He's going to be okay."

Yugi smiled. It was tight and hesitant, though, and she clutched her phone a little harder.

"I'll wait down here," she said. "Jonouchi, Honda, and Bakura just went down to the vending machines. They'll be here too, if you need us."

Yugi's shoulders seemed to relax.

"Thank you, Anzu," he said.

Then he followed his mother to the reception desk, and then down the hall towards his grandpa's room. Anzu sighed, feeling her own shoulders slumped. She was so tired. It had been almost a day and a half since Grandpa Mutou had had his heart attack. Luckily, it seemed that he was going to pull through, without any extra complications. The doctors were amazed at his bounce-back, especially since this was no less than the third time he had been admitted to the hospital for heart problems. Well, of course, one of those times had been due to his soul being removed from his body, but the doctors didn't know that.

Anzu didn't feel like sitting down, but standing made her want to pace. She knew that Mutou-jii was going to be okay, but still, she felt anxious. She hoped Yugi was doing all right. He and the other Yugi had seemed so terrified when she had called them – not that she had been very calm herself. She had to work on her bedside manner a little bit. Still, it had been...terrifying. She had been there in the room when he had just collapsed. And with Yugi out of the country, it had been even worse.

She shook her head to clear it. Luckily for her spinning thoughts, the three boys returned from the vending machines at that moment.

"Hey, Anzu," Jonouchi said, handing her the coffee she had asked for. It felt nice and warm in her hand, and she was grateful for the sensation. "Yugi get here yet?"

"Yes, he just went to see jii-san with his mother," she said. "I don't know how long they'll be up there, but I told Yugi we'd be waiting for him."

Jonouchi nodded approvingly, plopping down onto the couch and cracking open his own coffee.

"How was Yugi?" Honda asked.

"Shaken, but I think he's okay," Anzu said. "I don't know about the other Yugi. I didn't get a chance to talk to him..."

"Well, Yugi's mother was around, of course," Ryo said, shrugging. "I don't think she knows yet...does she?"

"I don't think even Grandpa officially knows," Honda said. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if he's guessed by now. He's a sharp guy."

Anzu nodded vaguely. Jonouchi sighed.

"This sucks," he said. "Yugi was havin' such a good time with his fancy-ass class, too."

"Yeah," Honda said.

They were quiet for a moment.

"Well, we still have our own tickets, right?" Ryo said. "I'm sure we can scrap one up for Yugi, as well. We can still go down and spend Christmas in England, like we had planned. He won't get to finish his class, but...it's something, right?"

"Right," Anzu said, smiling slightly. "I was really looking forward to meeting everyone. They all sounded like so much fun."

"Yeah, maybe you were excited," Jonouchi groaned. "Cause you can actually speak English. I'm gonna make a total fool of myself."

"You don't need any help with that, Jonouchi," Honda said.

Jonouchi kicked Honda in the shin. Honda flipped him off, but he was grinning. Anzu smiled a little herself. Their cheer was infectious. Sometimes it was good to have the dorks around, she thought teasingly.

"Right," she said. "So we'll still get to go to England. It'll be fun."

"Uh-huh," Ryo said.

For just a second, Anzu thought she heard a strange edge to Ryo's voice. But, looking at him, nothing seemed off. He was just sipping at his drink. Normal.

She couldn't shake a feeling of unease, though...

**. . .**

It was dark by the time they left the hospital. Yugi had only returned downstairs to thank them all for being there for him and apologize for not being about to really greet them. He promised to meet them all at the game shop later, and then went back up to see his grandpa.

Ryo let out a small sigh of relief as he walked down the cold street, breath twirling into the air. He snuggled further into his scarf. Grandpa Mutou was going to be completely fine. It was a miracle, really. He was barely suffering at all. The doctors were amazed at his heartiness. Ryo had always known that nothing would keep that man down for long. It was looking like, despite the scare, the winter break was going to be a good one after all. He was really looking forward to visiting England. He had always wanted to go. Ever since...

He carefully edged his thoughts away from that territory. No point in dwelling on the past, on the things that he had promised to do with his sister. He was not going to let himself get depressed right now. Things were going well. He was happy right now. He was okay.

And then the buzzing started.

He panicked right then. He dropped the phone that he had been fiddling with and nearly dropped to his knees. His hands clapped over his ears as though that would stop the static-like buzzing that was growing through his head – but he knew better.

"No, no, no, I won't let you –"

But it was no use. His ill-timed panic attack left his mind vulnerable and off balance. He was helpless as _the other one_ slid smoothly into the forefront of his brain, almost gently pushing Ryo himself back into a metaphysical room and closing the door.

"I'm sorry," was the last thing Ryo was able to whisper before he blacked out.

Yami no Bakura smiled softly. Ah, that was better. That had actually worked much better than he had planned – Ryo had been increasingly good at fighting him off lately. Perhaps the regular doses of pain had been enough to start causing him to have panic attacks at the mere thought of him. That was good. Very good. It was so much easier to take control of a mind that was panicking.

He retrieved Ryo's fallen phone and flipped it open. He had to remove the gloves in order to work the blasted thing. He hated modern technology. He finally managed to open up the menu he was looking for and started scrolling through the pictures that Ryo had received as text messages. There was one in particular that he had noticed vaguely some time ago, but only now was he starting to become more interested in it. Ah, there it was.

The photo on the small screen looked innocent enough. A squished group of friends in what appeared to be one of those cheesy photo booths set up at dances. There was the pharaoh, in the center there, looking far too happy. It was the pharaoh in this picture, not the puny little vessel, as was evident in the red eyes. There were a few people that Yami no Bakura did not recognize: a young man with auburn hair, a girl with black hair in a braid and a slightly sour expression.

But his lip started to curl into a slight smile as his eyes ran down the platinum white hair of the girl in the corner, the upturned blond do and bright green eyes of the girl that clung to the white-haired girl's arm...and most especially the dark-skinned girl with the dark brown hair and the huge laugh, her small fingers entwined tightly at the bottom of the photo with the pharaoh's...

"How precious," he said softly. "You found her, pharaoh. After all these thousands of years."

His smiled grew, glinting in the darkness like a predator.

"Oh, I will enjoy your face when you find her body with my knife in her chest..."

**. . .**

**A/N: …...*evil author laughing commences***

**A purple hyacinth means "sorry, please forgive me."**


	9. (interlude two) White Heather Town

He wandered through corridors in his sleep. Sometimes he wondered if these dreams were belonging to his other self, and Yugi himself was simply watching. He didn't know how to bring it up to his other self, though, because sometimes the dreams were truly horrifying, and if they weren't belonging to his other self, he didn't want to worry him.

Yugi wandered through the pitch black hallways, fingers running against the cold stone of the walls to keep himself oriented. Despite the darkness, though, he felt like he could see all around him. He could feel the maze stretch out around him, had an instinctive sense of which were dead ends and which were not. Most nights, the dream just stayed like this. It was actually a bit relaxing. There was no end to the maze, he was sure, but it felt like a puzzle, something that only he could solve. Something that made some strange sort of sense to him.

His fingers brushed from stone to cold metal. In the faraway way that brains were during dreams, he felt his heart sink. He only found doors when the dream was about to become a nightmare.

Almost idly, without really thinking about it, he opened the door and stepped out into perfect blackness.

The image of the maze twisting in his mind disappeared. It was like he had just fallen, and his stomach dropped even though he hadn't moved.

That was when the screaming started.

He clapped his hands over his ears, but his hands weren't real because it was a dream, and he could not shut out the sound. The scream cut through him. It swelled all around him – it was a girl's voice, screaming, screaming, screaming –

The darkness and the scream instantly fell away. Heat blasted his face. He was blinded momentarily by the flash of bright light reflected off desert sand. But then the desert was gone too, and he was once more sitting in blackness. But this time he could see his own hand, at least, and there was something sitting in his palm. He turned it over in his palm and some nonexistent light shimmered across the light, holographic surface of the Dark Magician Girl card.

A pair of voices seemed to rise out of the card, as though it were a cell phone on speaker.

"It didn't make a difference."

"You knew it wouldn't."

"Things are already in motion. You knew that you couldn't stop it from the beginning."

"..."

"Separating them has only made it _worse._"

"It won't last. If he doesn't come back, things will settle down again. She'll move on. Her emotions will settle."

"It's not going to be like that and you know it."

"Just because you're – what you are – doesn't mean that you know that for sure!"

"But I do know! I know better than anyone else in the Universes that Are and Can Be how she feels! If she doesn't get the closure she came for, you know what will happen to her!"

"No, no, no. It won't happen. I won't _let_ it happen."

A pause. The other voice spoke again, softer this time."

"...Look. I know how you feel. But...she can't live like this forever. You've known that since the beginning."

"...It doesn't mean I have to accept it."

The card fizzled out of his hand.

The darkness started to break up with a slight fizzling. He swallowed, coming up out of sleep. His mouth felt dry. The light was too bright...and his cheek hurt.

He woke up fully. He was sitting in a hard-edged hospital chair, his elbow on the armrest and his cheek pressed against his fist. Groaning, he lifted himself off his hand and leaned back on the chair instead. The artificial hospital lighting was horrid.

The other him was still sleeping. Yugi could feel his soul drifting. He wondered again if they shared dreams. For some reason, he felt like they didn't, that, at least, that dream had been his alone. Did the other him even dream?

"Ah! And I was just about to wake you up!"

Yugi startled fully alert. In the hospital bed in front of him, Grandpa Mutou was grinning at him.

"Jii-chan!"

Yugi leaped out of his chair and practically threw himself on his grandfather, hugging him tightly.

"Oof!" Grandpa Mutou said. "Careful, there, I'm not quite one hundred percent!"

He laughed as he said it, though, and hugged his grandson back just as tightly.

"You're okay, you're okay, you're okay," Yugi said, squeezing him.

"Of course I'm okay! It'll take more than a little old bit of heart failure to take me out, my boy. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with me for quite a few more years before I kick the bucket!"

"I _want_ to be stuck with you, thanks," Yugi said.

He pulled away.

"You really scared me," Yugi said.

"I know, I know. Mostly my own fault, you know. Felt it coming on for a while, put it down to heartburn. Should have gone to the doctor sooner. I am sorry I made you drop your trip. I know how important it was to you."

"Oh, no, no, don't be sorry!" Yugi said. "I got most of it done, at least. I'll still get the credits. And you're more important."

His grandpa smiled. He ruffled Yugi's hair.

"You're a very smart boy, you know? You remind me so much of your father. Self-driven, and smart, I mean. You definitely got your level-headedness from your mother."

Yugi laughed softly and leaned into his grandpa's hand, just glad that his grandpa was here to have this conversation with him.

"Well, even though it was cut short, how did you enjoy your first trip overseas?" Grandpa Mutou said.

"Oh, it was great!" Yugi said. "I learned so much. And everyone was so friendly. I really loved the town, too. It was cold and snowy, but it was nice and quiet."

"Ah, yes, those little towns are the best, aren't they?" Grandpa Mutou said, leaning his head back against the pillow. "Anyone can go see London or Paris, but you've got to get off the beaten track sometimes."

"We – I had a lot of fun with everyone," Yugi said, quickly fixing his statement. Grandpa didn't know about the other him yet...

He thought he saw his grandpa's lips flicker slightly towards a smile, but the older man didn't say anything.

"I was hoping that I could go with everyone at the end of the week to visit everyone there for Christmas," Yugi said. "Anzu, Jonouchi, and everyone already have tickets to go because they were planning on visiting."

"Then you definitely should go with them! You're young, you need to go experience the world!" Grandpa said with a laugh. "Don't worry about me. I'm going to be just fine, you'll see. Tell me more about these friends that you made in England."

Yugi smiled, grateful. He hadn't brought up the possibility of him going back to England to his mother yet, but if Grandpa was okay with it, his mother was sure to say yes – even if she did pretend to consider it for long, drawn out minutes.

"Well, there's Dominic-san, he lives with his parents at a flower shop," Yugi said. "Oh! I actually brought some seeds back with me, so we can grow some in our flower boxes."

Grandpa smiled, and let Yugi continue.

"Then there's Kisara-san. She has amnesia, and she's working at the flower shop while she stays with Darcy, my host father. He's a doctor, and he's taking care of her while the police try to figure out where she came from. Dawn is Darcy's daughter. She's really loud and exuberant, and there's Cadence. I don't think she really liked me much..."

"Can't win them all, can you?" Grandpa said.

"Guess not," Yugi admitted. "And then there's Mana. Other – I mean, I got along really well with her. I'm teaching her to play Duel Monsters."

Grandpa smiled broadly.

"They sound like a good group of kids. Glad to hear you're making friends so easily."

Yugi blushed slightly. It _was_ nice, the more he thought about it. Even though his other self had been in control for most of the time, he still felt like he was friends with all of them. He couldn't wait to see them all again – except, well, maybe not Cadence.

"It's a really great town," Yugi said. "I feel like just about anything can happen in it."

"The little towns are the ones that have a lot of the magic flitting around, aren't they?" Grandpa said. "Sure, there some in a city like this, but there's fewer places for the magic to hide in a small town. You enjoy it, when you go back, you hear? Enjoy every last minute of it."

Yugi smiled. He thought to all the faces of his friends here, his friends in England, to the image of his other self on the train station giving Mana the Dark Magician Girl card for safe-keeping. His other self had tried to hide it, but Yugi knew how disappointed he was to not be with Mana now. He couldn't wait to see them reuniting again – it put a warm feeling in his stomach.

"I will," he said. "I definitely will."

The strangeness of his dream had completely faded away by then.

**. . .**

He was dreaming.

That was odd. He couldn't remember ever having dreamed before.

There was a flicker to the scenery. It should have been disorienting, but seeing as it was a dream, he didn't seem to think anything of it.

One moment, he was standing in a vast desert, no sign of human life anywhere. Just golden sand dunes against the blue horizon. But by the time he would take his next breath, he would be standing in a field of snow in place of sand dunes. Still, there was no hint of humanity. Just silver snow against a gray sky. Desert. Snow. Desert. Snow.

"Do you think we can meet again?"

A girl stood before him. He could not see her face. In the desert, she wore a short canvas-colored tunic, glittering with hard golden bangles and trim. In the snow, she wore a long purple coat and black mittens, all soft things and round edges.

"Of course we can meet again," he found himself saying.

But she couldn't hear him, he realized. She was standing with her side facing him, blurred face turned towards the sky. A single tear rolled down her cheek as the scene faded from desert to winter and back again.

"Promise me, that someday, we can meet again. In a place like this. Promise me. If you can hear me, please, let me know that you can. If you can hear me – please. Promise to meet me again."

"I can hear you," he said. "And I promise. I promise I'll meet you again. No matter what it takes. In a place just like this."

But she couldn't hear him. And with a dry sob, she dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. He stepped forward. He tried to reach for her, to touch his fingers against her shoulder, to do something – he had promised! –

But then the dream was over, and he was drifting back into wakefulness.

Yami no Yugi found himself sitting in his soul room, on one of the many sets of steps. He was shocked to find tears at the corners of his eyes.

Slowly, he laid his face to rest in his hands.

Maybe he had been better off not dreaming.

**. . .**

**A/N: My apologies for the lateness of the update! I had a problem with the file, an influx of projects and work, and then suddenly came upon a problem in my outline that ended up with me being required to add in this second interlude that wasn't originally planned. I'd also like to let you all know that I'm changing my update day for this story: from now on, this one is set to update on Thursdays. I was trying my hardest to keep up, but the truth is I set up my schedule wrong; I tried to get myself to update on the three days that I have to work and thus have less time, which was a poor planning error on my part. This way, I should have less late updates. Thank you again for your patience. :) A white heather means "wishes will come true."**


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